Boeing making steady progress towards getting approval for new 737 MAX Jet software
Boeing Company was making steady progress to certify its grounded 737 MAX jets with a software update and completed a final flight test prior to the certification flight, said a Reuters report, quoting Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg as saying "Test pilots have made 146 737 MAX flights totaling roughly 246 hours of air time with the updated software, and nearly 90 percent of our 50-plus MAX operators around the globe have experienced the software update themselves during one of our simulator sessions."
Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg, who reportedly faced shareholders for the first time today since two fatal crashes that led to the 737 MAX`s grounding worldwide and triggered investigations, said the company was making steady progress towards getting approval for new 737 MAX software. Muilenburg will hold his first press conference since the grounding after the general annual shareholder meeting in Chicago, exactly six months after the Lion Air crash. Image source: Reuters
In another development, family and friends of 24-year-old American Samya Stumo, one of the victims of the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX on March 10, will hold a silent protest outside the meeting site, the report said. The crash, which killed all 157 on board when it plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff, came five months after a similar Lion Air nose-dive, killed all 189 passengers and crew. Image source: Reuters
Boeing must also contend with lawsuits filed on behalf of dozens of victims of the two crashes, including the family of Stumo, who are asking whether the Ethiopian disaster could have been prevented after what happened to Lion Air, said the report, while quoting the statement of Samya Stumo's mother Nadia Milleron as saying "Those in charge of creating and selling this plane did not treat Samya as they would their own daughters." Image source: Reuters
Further, Boeing is under pressure to deliver a software fix to prevent erroneous data triggering an anti-stall system called MCAS, besides a new pilot training package to convince global regulators, and the flying public, that the aircraft is safe, the report added. Image source: Reuters
The US Federal Aviation Administration could clear Boeing`s 737 MAX jet to fly in late May or the first part of June, the report said, citing two people familiar with the matter. However, Boeing has yet to submit the updated software and training for review. Image source: Reuters
Meanwhile, deliveries of the 737 MAX, which airlines around the world had been relying on to service a growing air travel industry for years to come, are on hold. Last week Boeing abandoned its 2019 financial outlook, halted share buybacks and said lowered production due to the 737 MAX grounding had cost it at least $1 billion so far, said the report. Image source: Reuters