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American Airlines on Tuesday launched the first commercial flight of a Boeing 737 MAX in the United States since the plane was grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes that killed hundreds and plunged the plane’s maker into crisis.
The MAX was Boeing’s best-selling aircraft, and the company struggled during the nearly two years the plane was excluded from the skies globally, a situation exacerbated by the sharp slowdown in travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. .
Boeing has worked with regulators to address technical issues and improve pilot training at the MAX, prompting countries to allow it to return to service, beginning with a domestic flight by Brazilian airline Gol earlier this month.
The first of the US carriers to return the plane to service, American Flight 718, carrying about 100 passengers, took off from Miami bound for New York’s La Guardia Airport around 1544 GMT.
“This is an aircraft that has been more scrutinized than ever. We are very confident that this aircraft is the safest in the skies,” airline president Robert Isom said before the flight’s departure.
CNBC reported that the plane was packed with a combination of aviation enthusiasts and people who were flying between the two cities, one of whom told the broadcaster they initially felt apprehensive about being on board.
“But I quickly forgot and it was a really easy flight,” said the unidentified passenger.
The plane landed in New York at 1812 GMT, according to the airport, and departed back to Miami more than an hour later on a flight that, according to the airline, nearly sold out its 172 seats.
United Airlines must return the MAX to its US fleet with flights beginning Feb.11, and Southwest Airlines, which has the largest MAX fleet, said it will restart service in the second quarter of 2021.
The return comes after the Federal Aviation Administration in late November authorized the plane to fly again following updates to its software and new pilot training protocols.
The MAX crisis began with a 2018 plane crash in Indonesia, followed by another in March 2019 in Ethiopia, which killed a total of 346 people and took the plane out of service worldwide.
Airlines canceled numerous orders for the plane, but as return to service approached, Boeing reported new orders in recent weeks, indicating that the company’s fortunes may be reversing.
However, the comeback has not been entirely smooth. The families of the accident victims continue to object to allowing the aircraft to fly, saying it is unsafe.
“A corporation that continues to manipulate due diligence and take shortcuts on matters of life and death should not be trusted with human life,” said Zipporah Kuria, whose father died in the accident in Ethiopia.
“As the families who paid the cost and were forced to eat the fruit of Boeing’s deceptive bosses, this will not end well.
An Air Canada MAX flying last week from Arizona to Montreal with three crew members on board experienced an engine problem that forced it to land in Tucson.
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