Test Flights Begin for Three Days from the 29th to Check Safety
FAA States Resuming Operations by September Is Difficult
On the 11th (local time), Boeing 737 Max aircraft stationed at Boeing's airline airport in Seattle, Washington, USA. Seattle (USA) = Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Boeing 737 Max, whose operations were suspended following a series of crashes, is undergoing test flights by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to obtain safety certification. This marks the beginning of the process to approve the resumption of flights. However, since additional verification steps by the FAA are required after the test flights, it is unlikely that operations will resume immediately.
According to foreign media including The New York Times (NYT) on the 28th (local time), the FAA completed its review of Boeing's self-assessment related to the safety systems of the 737 Max model on that day. It was reported to the U.S. Congress that from the 29th, FAA pilots will conduct test flights over three days.
The flights will take place in Seattle, Washington, where Boeing's headquarters are located. FAA engineers and Boeing managers will be on board the aircraft. The tests will include the operation of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which was identified as a cause in previous crashes, as well as steep descent and emergency landing tests, and flights over the Pacific coastal airspace.
Although the 737 Max is undergoing test flights, there is still a long way to go before operations can resume. The FAA has drawn a line on the possibility of an early resumption of flights. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson emphasized, "After data analysis is complete, I will likely board the 737 Max myself in a few weeks to check its safety," adding, "It seems unlikely that the FAA will approve the resumption of 737 Max flights at least until September."
Boeing highlighted that it conducted extensive self-test flights for this test. According to CNN, Boeing stated on the day, "We continue to work toward the safe return to service of the 737 Max," and "Before the test flights, we conducted over 2,000 hours of test flights internally to verify the safety of the new software."
The 737 Max model was involved in crashes in October 2018 involving Indonesia's Lion Air and in March last year involving Ethiopian Airlines, resulting in the loss of 346 lives. Official operations were suspended from March 13. Boeing temporarily halted production of the 737 Max in January this year following the accidents but resumed production last month.
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