Boeing 737 MAX planes parked in Seattle, Washington, in June.Lindsey Wasson / Reuters
After nearly two years of scrutiny, corporate turmoil and a clash with global regulators, Boeing will win approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday to fly its 737 MAX aircraft again after two terrible accidents.
The FAA will detail the software updates and changes in pilot training that Boeing will have to undertake in order for it to resume commercial flights with this aircraft, after a 20-month stoppage, the longest in the history of commercial aviation.
The 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, sparking a storm of investigations.
After two years, it is estimated that the company has lost some 20,000 million dollars (more than 16,800 million euros) and has been forced to renew its executive.
On a larger scale, the Boeing controversy has tainted the US leadership of world aviation.
As if that were not enough, the best-selling aircraft of the American manufacturer will resume its commercial service facing strong headwinds, such as the brake on tourism due to the pandemic, new European airfares and distrust in one of the most reputable brands in the world so far. sector.
"Our family was broken," said Naoise Ryan, whose 39-year-old husband died aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, at a news conference Tuesday.
"We are suffering and it is very likely that we will continue to suffer for a long time, if not for the rest of our lives."
The star of the catastrophes, the 737 MAX, is an updated version of the classic Boeing jet first introduced in the 1960s.
Single-aisle aircraft, such as the 737 MAX and its rival, the Airbus A320, are short-haul workhorses that dominate global fleets and provide a significant source of industry profit.
In anticipation of FAA approval, American Airlines plans to relaunch commercial flights of the 737 MAX on December 29.
While Southwest Airlines, the world's largest 737 MAX operator, does not plan to resume the flights of this aircraft until the second quarter of 2021.
For their part, major regulators in Europe, Brazil and China will also need to issue their own approvals for their airlines after independent reviews, demonstrating how the Boeing 737 accidents have turned the global aviation safety system upside down, as For decades, all countries accepted the FAA's rulings.
With the new changes, Boeing will have a monitoring room active 24 hours a day to analyze all 737 MAX flights and detect problems that could affect the return of the plane, from the landing gear stuck to health emergencies, according to three experts to Reuters.
Changes in aircraft software
If there are no last-minute changes, FAA administrator Steve Dickson will sign an order on Wednesday to lift the ban on Boeing's flights and the US agency will release a directive detailing the changes. necessary to be adopted by the airline.
The US air authority will require new training for pilots and software updates to renew the flight loss of control prevention system - MCAS -, which in the 2018 and 2019 accidents turned the nose of the plane towards the ground while the pilots struggled to stay the course and triggered catastrophes.
The FAA, which has been accused of giving Boeing preferential treatment in the past, has assured that it will not allow the company to operate some 450 737 MAX aircraft already built.
Instead, it plans individual inspections that could take a year or more to complete, prolonging delivery of the jets.
Boeing, meanwhile, has struggled to pay for maintenance and find buyers for many of its 737 MAXs already made since the coronavirus crisis undermined airlines' desire to expand their fleets.
Even with all the hurdles, resuming deliveries of the 737 MAX will open a crucial revenue stream for the airline and hundreds of parts suppliers that have been badly hit by the production slowdown.
Numerous analyzes have blamed Boeing and the FAA for the plane's mistakes.
A report by the US House of Representatives published in September found that "Boeing failed in the design and development of the 737 MAX, and the FAA in the oversight of the airline and the certification of the aircraft."
The report claimed that Boeing made "flawed design and performance assumptions," while also criticizing the US manufacturer for withholding "crucial information from the FAA, its customers, and the 737 MAX pilots," including "hiding the very existence of MCAS. [the system that altered the direction of the plane] to the pilots ”.
The House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill on Tuesday to reform the way the FAA certifies airplanes, while a Senate committee will consider a similar bill on Wednesday.