The Boeing 737 MAX grounding could extend until 2020

The process of developing and certifying revised software and changes made to pilot training has been repeatedly delayed, as airlines strive to cope with slips month after month. Boeing executives, FAA engineers, and international aviation regulators have regularly expanded their safety analysis to cover a growing list of issues ranging from emergency recovery procedures to potentially suspicious electronic components. Some of these assessments are even more complicated because they covered earlier 737 models.

Carriers have already given up flying their MAX aircraft until the end of this year.

American Airlines Group
Inc.

said Sunday that he would keep the plane off schedule until November 2, two months after his previous return goal in early September. This is the fifth time that the US has discouraged MAX from flying since its first cancellation when regulators landed the plane in March.

United Airlines Holdings
Inc.

A similar initiative was announced on Friday, but FAA officials and others who are looking for the problem have no assurance that the November date will be met.

The airlines were not expecting to be in this position at this point of the year, the grounding having no end. When American decided for the first time to erase MAX's flights for most of the summer, executives said they were doing it to avoid last-minute cancellations to customers, while remaining "very confident" that the plane would come back sooner.

Instead, they had to cope without their MAX jets during what turned out to be an exceptionally busy summer. The Transportation Security Administration has recorded eight of the 10 busiest days in its history since May.

Boeing executives and some FAA leaders told government and industry officials that they were still waiting for the agency to be ready to lay the groundwork for in the fall, which would likely allow aircraft to resume passenger transport before the end of the year. But on the basis of many delays and unexpected technical difficulties, many of these officials said that at this stage it would seem that the idea that the January Conservative calendar is more realistic.

The FAA said it was following a painstaking, timeless process, with agency officials pledging to address all security issues before allowing planes to fly back into the air.

Boeing has announced its intention to "provide the FAA and global regulators with all the information they need," noting that the company would not offer the 737 MAX "for FAA certification purposes until the end of the year. that we have met all the requirements "for such approval and a safe return. to serve.

The specific software patch for MCAS, an automated system that missed the fire, mastered the pilot's controls and strongly pushed the nose of the two MAX airliners that broke down, is largely complete and is waiting for the first time. FAA official approval for months. But in the meantime, Boeing and the safety regulators have been looking at various related issues from technical studies, ground simulator sessions and previous flight tests.

In the early stages of the patch work, Boeing and FAA officials disagreed on the scale of the changes needed to reduce the risks posed by the MCAS system, according to reports. people familiar with the details. Then, in March, when Boeing was due to submit a long-awaited proposal to revive the process, new questions were asked about software systems and emergency checklists, requiring weeks of further in-depth assessments. .

The topics discussed were whether the average pilot had the physical strength to manually launch a flight control steering wheel in extreme urgency.

In late June, Boeing and the FAA revealed another flight control problem on the MAX, involving the failure of a microprocessor, which prevented the test pilots from thwarting a possible MCAS firing failure as quickly as necessary.

As the 737 MAX and its previous version, called 737 NG, share the same flight control computer, the microprocessor-related patches also apply to NG models, thousands of which remain in service worldwide. Boeing must also convince the FAA that a software solution, instead of physically replacing the suspect electronic component on all MAX aircraft, will suffice.

Even assuming that new MAX issues do not arise, Boeing will require FAA approval for all of its patches, not just those directly related to MCAS, as well as any other issues. a new series of flight tests, a green light for improved training procedures and software approval. updated simulator software. In addition, the airlines have indicated that it could take them up to 45 days to complete the necessary maintenance procedures and other mandatory checks performed by the mechanics to release the aircraft from MAX.

From a purely technical point of view, some senior FAA officials believe that they might be able to approve the corrective proposed by Boeing at some point in October, although working with regulators for a coordinated restart to service could cause a delay, according to a person informed of the issue. This person added that another joker could be the potential impact of the new FAA leadership if the US Senate confirmed Stephen Dickson in the fall as the next agency administrator.

Each month, the return of the plane is a new headache for airlines: how to create a new schedule covering as many flights as possible with fewer jets. Some customers who had already planned their flights must be re-booked, sometimes at a less convenient time or with an additional stop. Pilots and flight attendants must also be reworked.

Now, carriers are nervously watching the holiday season, when they face a crowd of travelers whose Thanksgiving and Christmas travel plans leave little room for maneuver. United was to have 30 MAX in the coming months, up from 14. He suppressed 2,900 flights in October, more than double the number he had to remove in July. American Airlines had 24 MAX in its fleet at the time of the grounding, less than 3% of its total. But he must have 40 by the end of the year.

AT

Southwest Airlines
Co.

Alan Kasher, Vice President of Air Operations, said in a message to employees Friday that the airline was "overcrowded", with more pilots than necessary to operate on a reduced schedule due to the grounding of its flights. 34 MAX jet aircraft. Some southwestern pilots have complained of lost revenue due to fewer flight opportunities.

While the return of the MAX is not yet well settled, the airline postpones the training of some newly hired pilots who were scheduled to start this fall and delays the training of some current co-pilots from the southwest, about to move to the ranks of captain.

Write to Andy Pasztor at [email protected], Alison Sider at [email protected] and Andrew Tangel at [email protected]