Both the NTSB and France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis agreed with the
It later emerged that both accidents were triggered by design flaws, in particular the use of flight control software known as MCAS. The system was designed to assist pilots familiar with previous generations of the 737, and prevent them from needing costly extra training in order to fly the new model.
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.
Despite a healthy order book and recovery from the earlier grounding, the problems are not over for Boeing and the 737 MAX. Most notably, two of the 737 variants - the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 - are still to receive certification. These were given a lifeline in late 2022 with a certification waiver from US Congress.
DGCA had banned the plane's operations since March 2019 after two fatal accidents killed 346 people. In October 2018, 737 Max, the newest member of Boeing's 737 narrow-body family crashed in the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.
The MAX has now been so thoroughly reviewed by regulators and reworked by Boeing that it should be considered incredibly safe. Additional pilot training requirements should help instill even more confidence in the airplane, but it's hard to shake the feeling of fear that many travelers will encounter in the near term.
“Repetitive and uncommanded airplane-nose-down inputs” from a new flight control system on the MAX, triggered by a single faulty sensor, put the airplane in an “unrecoverable” dive, the Ethiopian report, released Dec. 23, concludes.
It's often listed on boarding passes or tickets, or passengers can call and ask the airline. If they see they would be flying on a 737 MAX 8 and they choose not to take that flight because they feel unsafe, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both said their standard flight change policies would apply.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have approved the MAX as safe to fly passengers.
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.
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 move away from the MAX name has been a subtle process and Boeing has begun to use the name 737 MAX and 737-8(7 through 10) interchangeably. This way they are transitioning away from the MAX name toward the normal naming convention of modern Boeing aircraft.
Boeing estimates that the average 737 MAX 7 aircraft would seat anywhere between 138 to 153 passengers. The MAX 8 would seat between 162 to 178 passengers, while the MAX 9 would seat 178 to 193 passengers, depending on the configuration.
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.
But the families sued, arguing that the agreement was a “sweetheart deal” made behind closed doors, and that under the Crime Victims Rights Act, they should have been allowed a seat at that table.
Under a deal filed in federal court on Wednesday, Boeing will accept blame for the crash, which led to a worldwide ban on the plane until last year, and will take on sole responsibility for compensatory damages awarded to the victims' families in the future.
After much modification and extensive testing, Boeing returned with the Max for re-certification. I met an aviation enthusiast last week, and he asked me a direct question, “Is the Boeing 737 Max Safe?” My immediate answer was, “Of course it is!
Boeing and Airbus are two of the most prominent commercial aircraft manufacturers globally. They have estimated the lifespan of their aircraft as follows: Boeing estimates that their 737 series aircraft have a lifespan of 90,000 flight cycles or 55,000 flight hours, whichever comes first.
Nearly 1,100 MAX aircraft have now flown over 4.6 million flight hours and over 1.8 million flights. Almost 70 airlines operate the four variants, amounting to over 4,200 daily flights worldwide. Since last year's Farnborough Airshow, Boeing has received orders for more than 1,000 aircraft.
Union officials indicate that pilots like the Max and are confident in the changes from Boeing. Representatives of three unions said that crews were largely happy with the plane and added that, except at a select few airlines, training backlogs were the biggest challenge to getting more pilots in the cockpit.
“The 737 MAX fleet has operated for 1.8 million flight hours – about 800,000 flights – since November 2020. Fleet reliability is above 99.5% - that is actually where the Next-Generation 737 was at, so it's on par with the airplane it's replaced.” Schedule reliability of 99.5% is an impressive number indeed.
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.
In January 2020, the company estimated a loss of $18.4 billion for 2019, and it reported 183 canceled MAX orders for the year.
The FAA's December 2018 risk analysis estimated that without action to address the jet's faulty flight control system, the MAX would suffer an average of about one crash every three years during the life of the worldwide fleet.