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PARIS (Reuters) – Europe is poised to lift its flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX airliner in January after US regulators last week ended a 20-month suspension caused by two fatal crashes.
The head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in statements broadcast on Saturday that the 737 MAX was safe to fly after changes to the plane’s design that crashed twice in five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
“We wanted to conduct a fully independent analysis of the safety of this aircraft, so we conducted our own flight checks and tests,” CEO Patrick Ky told the Paris Air Forum, an online aviation conference hosted by La Tribune. .
“All these studies tell us that the 737 MAX can work again. We have started to implement all the measures, ”he said. “It is likely that in our case we will make the decisions, allowing him to return to service, sometime in January.”
EASA’s decision is considered the most important milestone after FAA approval as, as the responsible watchdog for Airbus, it also holds significant industry weight.
Officials confirmed that a draft EASA directive proposing to end the grounding in Europe will be published next week, followed by a 30-day comment period. After the final touches, that would lead to an unfounded decision in January.
The time it takes for flights to resume in Europe depends on the training of the pilots and the time it takes for airlines to update the software and carry out other actions ordered by EASA.
In the United States, commercial flights are scheduled to begin Dec. 29, just under six weeks after the FAA’s order was issued on Nov. 18.
EASA represents the 27 countries of the European Union plus four other nations, including Norway, which has 92 of the aircraft ordered. Until December 31, he also represents the UK, which left the EU bloc in January.
FAA LESSONS
The accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia triggered a series of investigations that blame Boeing for poor design and the FAA for lax oversight. They also put the FAA’s close relationships with Boeing under scrutiny.
“It’s clear that there were a number of dysfunctions in (the FAA’s) stock and its relationships with Boeing,” Ky said. “I will not go into details as it is not up to me to do that. The FAA is in the process of implementing corrective measures. “
He said EASA would change some of its own methods and take a more detailed role in analyzing critical characteristics on foreign aircraft. It would also be “more uncompromising” to ensure key security reviews are completed before moving on to next steps, Ky said. So far, one primary regulator certifies an aircraft and others mainly follow suit after varying degrees of independent checks.
“What will change is the way we validate and certify Boeing aircraft, that’s clear, but will it have an impact on (certification) times? No I dont think so; we will do things differently, ”Ky said.
Boeing is developing the 777X, a larger version of its 777.
EASA is seen to be emerging stronger from the Boeing crisis, and some regulators are awaiting its decisions on the MAX rather than immediately following the FAA as in the past.
FAA chief Steve Dickson played down the differences last week, saying there was “very little daylight” between regulators and that the FAA worked closely with Europe, Canada and Brazil.
Reporting by Tim Hepher; Edited by Andrew Heavens / Louise Heavens and Grant McCool
