After concluding three days of flight testing on the 737 MAX, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has provided an update on the recertification process.
The news marks an important milestone for both Boeing and the regulator, who plan to work closely together over the coming weeks. However, an extensive to-do list remains before the plane receives clearance to fly passenger services, as detailed by the FAA.
“During three days of testing this week, FAA pilots and engineers evaluated Boeing’s proposed changes in connection with the automated flight control system on the aircraft,” the FAA said.
“While completion of the flights is an important milestone, a number of key tasks remain, including evaluating the data gathered during these flights.
“The agency is following a deliberate process and will take the time it needs to thoroughly review Boeing’s work. We will lift the grounding order only after FAA safety experts are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards.”
If successful, certification flights represent a major step towards a final airworthiness directive (AD). The FAA must still review and formally approve the company’s design documentation.
Pilot training requirements will also need to be signed off on by the FAA’s Flight Standardization Board (FSB), as well as the multinational Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB).
Swedish flight tracking website Flightradar24 said that the aircraft (tail number N7201S) completed about 10 hours of flight time over Washington state and neighbouring Idaho on 29 and 30 June, and 1 July.
The plane flew tests for two hours on Monday, four hours on Tuesday and finally an hour and 37 minutes on Wednesday.
The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March 2019, after two separate accidents killed 346 passengers and crew. Investigations have laid the blame for both incidents on the aircraft’s new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
