Because of the sheer intensity of the scrutiny the aircraft faced, the Boeing 737 MAX could be considered one of the safest in the world. In fact, among the dozens of models of commercial airliners around the world, it is likely the safest due to the amount of regulation testing that took place.
The ultimate Boeing 737 MAX question is always, 'is it safe now? '. The answer to that is a resounding yes. The plane has been described as one of the most scrutinized aircraft in aviation history, with authorities like the FAA, EASA, and many more taking a very close look at the plane.
Southwest maintains the largest Boeing 737 MAX fleet, though the Ryanair Group is close to knocking the US low-cost carrier from the top.
FAA clears Boeing 737 Max for safe return to service
In January 2023, it was reported that the Boeing 737 Max had passed its safety review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA had been conducting a review of the aircraft's safety since its reintroduction in 2020.
The FAA ultimately grounded the MAX on March 13, 2019 and lifted the flight prohibition order in November 2020 after Boeing made a series of software upgrades and training changes.
Due to hold limitations, QANTAS won't opt for Boeing 737Max. It will go Airbus all the way, due to its' superior hold capacity for pallets, & better all-round design.
As of March 2022, there has been a total of 503 aviation accidents and incidents involving all 737 aircraft, including 219 hull losses resulting in a total of 5,717 fatalities. The 737 first entered airline service in February 1968; the 10,000th aircraft entered service in March 2018.
The latest problem comes as Boeing has been under intense scrutiny since two accidents in 2018 and 2019 involving its 737 Max planes killed 346 people. Authorities said the accidents were triggered by design flaws in its flight control software.
The problem is related to two of several brackets in the aft fuselage of some 737 Max planes, including the most popular model, the Max 8. Boeing has a backlog of 4,196 Max planes, according to a tally on its website.
Boeing estimates that their 737 series aircraft have a lifespan of 90,000 flight cycles or 55,000 flight hours, whichever comes first. The 747 series aircraft have a lifespan of around 35 years or 90,000 flight hours.
The Australian airline has eight 737 MAX 8 on order and preparing for its inaugural Cairns - Tokyo flight. Virgin Australia is patiently waiting for its new Boeing 737 MAX 8s, with the airline expecting its first delivery this April.
An easy way, for now, to avoid the 737-MAX is to figure out which airlines are flying the plane, and when. If you don't want to fly it, the simplest solution would be to choose another airline. Here's the airlines with firm orders, or letters of intent to fly the 737 MAX, many of which have already been delivered.
Because of the sheer intensity of the scrutiny the aircraft faced, the Boeing 737 MAX could be considered one of the safest in the world. In fact, among the dozens of models of commercial airliners around the world, it is likely the safest due to the amount of regulation testing that took place.
On an American Airlines Boeing 737-800, for example, the seat-rating site SeatGuru warns of several “bad” seats, denoted in red. They include all the seats in row 30, at the back of the aircraft. The reasons are obvious: Like Conway's, the seats in row 30 are next to lavatories and don't fully recline.
The MAX airplane has been “recertified” by the FAA, and more than 900 of these planes are now flying around the world.
WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA. N) intends to restore production of its bestselling 737 MAX jet to its 2019 rate of 52 a month by January 2025 as it seeks to fully recover from two deadly crashes and the COVID-19 pandemic that curtailed output, two people familiar with the matter said.
Utilizing the International Civil Aviation Organization safety occurrence data, from 2008 to 2019, these aircraft were compared in terms of occurrence type, occurrence category, phase of flight, injury level, and fatalities. It was found that Boeing had more accidents than expected, while Airbus had less (p = 0.015).
The Boeing 737 MAX is heavier than the 737NG and has more fuel-efficient engines and new winglets.
The Boeing 737 MAX is an aerodynamically unstable aircraft that is enhanced via MCAS to prevent stalling. This instability is caused by the higher thrust, location and geometry of the CFM LEAP 1B turbofans used on the Boeing 737 MAX.
The 737-800 is a member of the Next Generation family, and is itself the most produced of the Next Gen models, with nearly 5,000 civilian deliveries between 1998 and 2019. Among the 737 MAX family, the 737 MAX 8 is the 737-800's most direct replacement, although 787-800s are still widely operated.
The most-ordered variant was the 737-800, with 4,991 commercial, 191 military, and 23 corporate, or a total of 5,205 aircraft. Boeing stopped assembling commercial 737NGs in 2019 and made the final deliveries in January 2020. The 737NG is superseded by the fourth generation 737 MAX, introduced in 2017.
Boeing in 2021 agreed to acknowledge liability for compensatory damages in lawsuits filed by families of the 157 people killed in the fatal Ethiopian 737 MAX crash. In February, the U.S. planemaker sought to exclude any evidence of pain and suffering that passengers may have experienced before the crash.
Both the NTSB and France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis agreed with the Ethiopian agency's conclusion that the design of Boeing's new flight control software that repeatedly pushed the jet's nose down — the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS — was a major cause of the accident.
As a result, Boeing agreed to establish a $500 million fund to compensate the families of those who died, pay a fine of nearly $244 million and pay $1.77 billion in compensation to airlines.
Both airlines separately sued Boeing and argued they should have gotten compensation from Boeing as part of the plea deal, as other airlines did. Those suits in Seattle are pending.