The European Union Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the return to service of a modified version
of the Boeing 737 MAX.
The aircraft was grounded
worldwide in March 2019 following two accidents within six months of each other,
which together claimed 346 lives.
The root cause of the accidents was traced to
the plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which was
designed to make the plane easier to handle. However, the MCAS unexpectedly
came into operation when a specific sensor failed, pushing the nose of the
aircraft down repeatedly. In both accidents, pilots finally lost control of
their plane, resulting in a crash with total loss of aircraft.
The
plane has been approved to fly subject to a package of software upgrades,
electrical working rework, maintenance checks, operations manual updates and
crew training.
“We have reached a significant
milestone on a long road,” said EASA executive director Patrick Ky. “Following
extensive analysis by EASA, we have determined that the 737 MAX can safely
return to service.
"This assessment was carried out in full independence of
Boeing or the Federal Aviation Administration and without any economic or
political pressure – we asked difficult questions until we got answers and
pushed for solutions which satisfied our exacting safety requirements. We
carried out our own flight tests and simulator sessions and did not rely on
others to do this for us.
“Let
me be quite clear that this journey does not end here,” he added. “We have
every confidence that the aircraft is safe, which is the precondition for
giving our approval. But we will continue to monitor 737 MAX operations closely
as the aircraft resumes service. In parallel, and at our insistence, Boeing has
also committed to work to enhance the aircraft still further in the medium
term, in order to reach an even higher level of safety.”