The United States Federal Aviation Administration gave the go signal for Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft to fly again after being grounded for 20 months in the wake of two fatal crashes that questioned the aircraft’s safety.

The FAA on Wednesday (November 18) said the aircraft will be recertified for commercial service after close to two years of design changes to assure regulators of the aircraft’s safety following the crash of two planes over 300 people.

Boeing 737 Max aircraft were grounded worldwide since March 2019 after two fatal air accidents. This includes the ill-fated Lion Air flight that crashed in October 2018 in Indonesia that claimed the lives of 189 people and an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed five months later due to design flaws on the Boeing 737 Max design particularly its anti-stall technology that resulted in the loss of 157 lives.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson Wednesday signed the order recalling the grounding of the aircraft.

The US FAA since last week has been reporting that they are in the final stages of reviewing design changes to the Boeing 737 Max that would ensure its safety.

“I will lift the grounding order only after our safety experts are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards,” Dickson said last week in a statement.

The FAA will also issue individual Airworthiness Certificates for each new 737 aircraft as it allows Boeing to resume their delivery of newly produced aircraft after implementing design fixes to ensure the aircraft’s safety.

The recent FAA action comes after a  comprehensive and methodical safety review process that took 20 months to complete. During that time, FAA employees worked diligently to identify and address the safety issues that played a role in the tragic loss of 346 lives aboard Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

“Throughout our transparent process, we cooperated closely with our foreign counterparts on every aspect of the service return. Additionally, Administrator Dickson personally took the recommended pilot training and piloted the Boeing 737 MAX, so he could experience the handling of the aircraft firsthand,” the FAA said in a statement.

In addition to rescinding the order that grounded the aircraft, the FAA also published an Airworthiness Directive specifying design changes that must be made before the aircraft returns to service.

The FAA must also approve 737 MAX pilot training program revisions for each U.S. airline operating the controversial aircraft and will retain its authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates of airworthiness for all new 737 MAX aircraft manufactured since the FAA issued the grounding order.

Furthermore, airlines that have parked their MAX aircraft specifically Boeing 737-8s and 737-9s or the Max must take required maintenance steps to prepare them to fly again. In the United States,  airlines that have the Boeing  737 Max in their fleets are Southwest, American, and United.

Boeing assures 737 Max safety changes

Boeing has assured they have made design changes to the 737 Max while commiserating with the families amid the lives lost following the fatal crashes.

“We will never forget the lives lost in the two tragic accidents that led to the decision to suspend operations,” said David Calhoun, chief executive officer of The Boeing Company.

“These events and the lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality, and integrity,” Calhoun said in a statement.

Boeing since the grounding of the aircraft has worked closely with various airlines that operated 737 Max aircraft by providing them with detailed recommendations for long-term storage and ensuring their input as part of the effort to safely return the airplanes to service.

The American aircraft manufacturer also assured adherence to an Airworthiness Directive that spells out requirements that must be met before U.S. carriers can resume service, including installing software enhancements, completing wire separation modifications, conducting pilot training, and accomplishing thorough de-preservation activities that will ensure the airplanes are ready for service.

“The FAA’s directive is an important milestone,” said Stan Deal, president, and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We will continue to work with regulators around the world and our customers to return the airplane into service worldwide.”

Aside from implementing design changes and conducting pilot training, Boeing has also taken three important steps to strengthen aircraft safety and quality. These are:

  • Organizational Alignment: More than 50,000 engineers have been brought together in a single organization that includes a new Product & Services Safety unit, unifying safety responsibilities across the company.
  • Cultural Focus: Engineers have been further empowered to improve safety and quality. The company is identifying, diagnosing, and resolving issues with a higher level of transparency and immediacy.
  • Process Enhancements: By adopting next-generation design processes, the company is enabling greater levels of first-time quality.

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JM Agreda
JM Agreda is a freelance journalist for more than 12 years writing for numerous international publications, research journals, and news websites. He mainly covers business, tech, transportation, and political news for Businessner.