'Crash Accident' Boeing 737 Max This Time Electrical Defect

Source: Reuters

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The 109 Boeing 737 Max passenger planes in the United States, whose operations were suspended due to two crash accidents, have received corrective orders from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

On the 29th (local time), the FAA announced that earlier this month, it issued corrective orders for 109 737 Max passenger planes and temporarily suspended their operations.

The passenger planes subject to the corrective orders are reported to have electrical system issues that could cause serious errors in the engine cooling prevention function and cockpit functions.

However, the FAA stated that this defect is unrelated to the automatic stall prevention system problem, which was identified as the cause of the two crash accidents in 2018 and 2019.

The affected passenger planes were manufactured in 2019, and it has been identified that more than 300 aircraft that Boeing has not yet delivered to airlines also have the same issue.

Boeing requested inspections from 16 airlines prior to the FAA's corrective orders, and each airline voluntarily suspended operations temporarily.

This FAA corrective order was issued about five months after the 737 Max was approved to resume operations in November last year.

In a statement, the FAA said, "We identified an issue that could affect the backup power unit during Boeing's tests," and Boeing said, "We fully support the FAA's guidance."

Dave Calhoun, Boeing's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said during the first-quarter earnings conference call that "the work time per aircraft is expected to take several days," and "we will focus on safety, quality, and transparency throughout this process."

Meanwhile, Boeing posted a net loss of $561 million (approximately 625 billion KRW) in the first quarter of this year due to the impact of COVID-19, marking six consecutive quarters of losses.

Boeing's loss per share was $1.53, exceeding the forecast of $1.16 compiled by market research firm Refinitiv.