The boss of the American aviation agency took control on Wednesday of a Boeing 737 MAX for an evaluation flight with which he said he was satisfied, which constitutes a new step towards the return to service of the l device nailed to the ground for a year and a half.
Read also: Flight crucial for the future of the Boeing 737 Max
“I enjoyed what I saw this morning,”
former pilot Steve Dickson told an online press conference just after his nearly two-hour hike in the air near Seattle.
But, he immediately added,
"we are not yet at the end of the process"
of re-certification of the device.
Steve Dickson had previously completed the new 737 Max pilot training course recommended by a recent panel of representatives from various aviation regulatory agencies in London, first online and then in a simulator.
“It has been a productive and constructive week
,” he said.
The 737 MAX has been banned from flying around the world since March 2019 after two accidents that killed 346 in Indonesia and Ethiopia five months apart.
The authorities demanded that Boeing make several modifications to elements incriminated in the crashes, including the MCAS anti-stall software.
"Shortly after taking over as head of the FAA, I promised that I would try the 737 max myself and that I wouldn't give the green light until I was comfortable with the idea." to fly my family there, ”
said Steve Dickson on Wednesday.
“It was important to experience the training and taking the device for myself to fully understand,”
he noted.
Towards a green light "in November"
There are several steps left before the authorities officially grant their technical green light to the 737 MAX.
Companies will then have to make the requested changes to the devices they use and provide the required training.
Steve Dickson did not wish to move forward on the timetable, stressing only that the FFA was working closely with its counterparts in Europe, Canada or Brazil
"to reach a consensus"
on the problems raised by each of them. them.
The head of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Patrick Ky, recently declared that he could give his technical green light
"during November"
, which could lead to a return to service of the 737 MAX
"of here the end of the year ”
.
