Archive for ‘Boeing 737 MAX’

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12/12/2019

China has ‘important concerns’ about Boeing 737 MAX design changes: regulator

BEIJING/SYDNEY (Reuters) – China has raised “important concerns” with Boeing Co (BA.N) regarding design changes proposed to end the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX airliner, Beijing’s aviation regulator said on Thursday, declining to say when it might fly in China again.

The remarks broke months of public silence from China, the first country to ground the 737 MAX in March following the second deadly crash involving the model in less than five months.

“Boeing is currently upgrading its software to the 737 MAX, and it is still a work in progress. The CAAC has raised our important concerns on areas such as system reliability and safety assessment,” Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) spokesman Liu Lusong told reporters at a monthly briefing.

The 737 MAX would need to be re-certified and pilots given comprehensive and effective training before it could fly in China, he reiterated.

He said the causes of two crashes that killed 346 people needed to be investigated with effective measures put in place to prevent another one.

China in April said it had set up a task force to review design changes submitted by Boeing.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not allow the 737 MAX to resume flying before the end of 2019, its chief, Steve Dickson, said on Wednesday.

“We continue to work with the FAA, CAAC and global regulators on addressing their concerns in order to safely return the MAX to service,” Boeing said in a statement on Thursday.

FAA approval would allow the 737 MAX to resume flights in the United States, but individual national regulators could keep the planes grounded pending completion of their own reviews.

“Due to the trade war, the jury is still out on when China would reintroduce the aircraft,” said Rob Morris, global head of consultancy at Ascend by Cirium.

Source: Reuters

Posted in 'important concerns', aviation regulator, Beijing’s, Boeing 737 MAX, Boeing Co (BA.N), CAAC, China alert, Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), design changes, regulator, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

20/09/2019

Aviation watchdog may ask Boeing to set up 737 MAX simulators in India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s aviation safety regulator may ask Boeing (BA.N) to set up simulators in India to train pilots on the 737 MAX planes once it clears the aircraft as safe for flying, a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The 737 MAX, the fastest-selling plane in Boeing’s history, has been grounded the world over since March in the aftermath of two fatal crashes in five months that killed 346 people.

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also conduct an independent inspection of the grounded planes once they are cleared for flying by the U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“Once FAA re-certifies it and says these issues have been resolved then we will evaluate whether what they are saying is right or wrong … We will carry out our own inspections,” the official said, adding that it is unlikely the planes will fly in Indian skies until next year.

Boeing is making software changes and drawing up a new pilot training plan, and will need to conduct a key certification test flight to get the FAA’s approval before it can put the planes back in the air. Some federal officials expect the test flight to be conducted in October.

“Later this year India will send a team. We would like to take a look at their flight data, some simulators will also be required for training pilots,” the official said, adding it may ask Boeing to have simulators in India.

Indian carrier SpiceJet (SPJT.BO) has about a dozen Boeing 737 MAX planes in its fleet and a total of 155 on order – among the largest single orders for the narrow-body plane.

Boeing has delivered some 385 737 MAX jets globally before the March grounding and has roughly 5,000 orders for the aircraft, a more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer’s best-selling single-aisle 737 series.

Source: Reuters

Posted in Aircraft, aviation safety regulator, Aviation watchdog, Boeing, Boeing 737, Boeing 737 MAX, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA, fleet, India alert, Indian carrier, simulators, SpiceJet (SPJT.BO), U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

23/05/2019

Boeing 737 Max: China’s top airlines seek compensation

China’s three biggest airlines are demanding compensation from Boeing over its grounded 737 Max fleet.

Air China, China Southern and China Eastern have filed claims for payouts, according to state media reports.

China’s regulator was the first to ground the fleet in the wake of two deadly crashes involving the US-made aircraft.

It comes on the eve of a meeting of global aviation regulators that will provide an update on the troubled jets.

The Chinese airlines are seeking compensation for losses incurred by the grounded fleet, as well as delayed deliveries of the 737 Max jets, according to reports.

China operates the largest fleet of Boeing 737 Max aircraft and was the first country to take the jets out of service after the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 crash in March.

The disaster killed all 157 people on board. In October, 189 people were killed in a Lion Air crash involving the same model.

Both crashes were linked to the jet’s Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System, a new feature on 737 Max planes, which was designed to improve the handling of the jet and to stop it pitching up at too high an angle.

Last week, Boeing said it had completed development of a software update for its 737 Max planes.

The planemaker’s entire global fleet of 737 Max aircraft has been grounded since March and the firm is anxious to prove it is safe to return to the skies.

The move by China’s top airlines to seek compensation comes ahead of a closely watched summit of aviation regulators in Texas on Thursday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is due to provide an update on reviews of Boeing’s software fix and new pilot training.

The meeting in Texas will involve 57 agencies from 33 countries, including China, France, Germany and the UK, as well as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

But it is unclear if the planes will be back in the air before the end of the critical summer travel season.

Source: The BBC

Posted in Air China, aviation regulators, Boeing 737 MAX, China alert, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, China's top airlines, compensation, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, France, Germany, seek, Texas, travel season, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), UK, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

06/04/2019

China’s aviation regulator asked to join FAA safety review of Boeing 737 MAX

  • Civil Aviation Administration of China has not decided whether to take up invitation to be part of task force looking into automated flight control system, according to state media
The FAA is putting together an international team of experts to review the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX after two fatal crashes. Photo: EPA-EFE
The FAA is putting together an international team of experts to review the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX after two fatal crashes. Photo: EPA-EFE
China’s aviation regulator has been invited to join the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) task force to review the automated flight control system of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets, state media reported on Saturday.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has not decided whether to accept the invitation, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing an administration official.
But the official said the regulator would closely follow the investigation into two fatal crashes involving Boeing 737 MAX planes.
The FAA on Wednesday said it was forming an international team to review the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX following the accidents.
China was the first country to ground all Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed outside Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all 157 people on board.

It was the second crash involving Boeing’s newest model, after 189 people were killed when a Lion Air plane crashed into the Java Sea off Indonesia on October 29.

Noting the similarities between the two accidents, China’s civil aviation regulator ordered domestic airlines to ground all 737 MAX 8 aircraft. It stopped taking applications for Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 airworthiness certification on March 21.After China ordered a dozen carriers to ground their 96 planes – about a quarter of all 737 MAX aircraft in operation globally – authorities in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Morocco and Singapore followed suit, along with airlines in Latin America and South Korea, before it was grounded worldwide.

How every Boeing 737 MAX was grounded in five days

China’s civil aviation regulator has said the plane would only be allowed to resume flights after it is satisfied measures to effectively ensure safety have been taken.

On Wednesday, the FAA said it would set up a Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) team to evaluate the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX. Experts from the FAA, Nasa and international aviation authorities would “conduct a comprehensive review of the certification of the automated flight control system on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft”, the FAA said in a statement

“The JATR team will evaluate aspects of the 737 MAX automated flight control system, including its design and pilots’ interaction with the system, to determine its compliance with all applicable regulations and to identify future enhancements that might be needed,” the statement said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in Addis Ababa, aviation regulator, Boeing 737 MAX, China alert, Ethiopian Airlines, FAA safety review, Indonesia, Java Sea, Lion Air, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

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