Podcast: 10 Minutes About the 737 MAX Return to Service

Nov. 18, 2020, © Leeham News: LNA today launches a new feature, a periodic podcast about key issues of the moment.

Called “10 Minutes About,” the podcast is—as the title says—10 minutes about the issue selected. This time frame is short, to the point and doesn’t take too much time from the listener.

Today’s launch podcast is 10 Minutes About the 737 MAX Return to Service. The US Federal Aviation Administration today recertified the MAX.

FAA Statement:

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson today signed an order that paves the way for the Boeing 737 MAX to return to commercial service. Administrator Dickson’s action followed a comprehensive and methodical safety review process that took 20 months to complete. During that time, FAA employees worked diligently to identify and address the safety issues that played a role in the tragic loss of 346 lives aboard Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Throughout our transparent process, we cooperated closely with our foreign counterparts on every aspect of the return to service. Additionally, Administrator Dickson personally took the recommended pilot training and piloted the Boeing 737 MAX, so he could experience the handling of the aircraft firsthand.

In addition to rescinding the order that grounded the aircraft, the FAA today published an Airworthiness Directive specifying design changes that must be made before the aircraft returns to service, issued a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC), and published the MAX training requirements. These actions do not allow the MAX to return immediately to the skies. The FAA must approve 737 MAX pilot training program revisions for each U.S. airline operating the MAX and will retain its authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates of airworthiness for all new 737 MAX aircraft manufactured since the FAA issued the grounding order. Furthermore, airlines that have parked their MAX aircraft must take required maintenance steps to prepare them to fly again.

The design and certification of this aircraft included an unprecedented level of collaborative and independent reviews by aviation authorities around the world. Those regulators have indicated that Boeing’s design changes, together with the changes to crew procedures and training enhancements, will give them the confidence to validate the aircraft as safe to fly in their respective countries and regions.  Following the return to service, the FAA will continue to work closely with our foreign civil aviation partners to evaluate any potential additional enhancements for the aircraft. The agency also will conduct the same rigorous, continued operational safety oversight of the MAX that we provide for the entire U.S. commercial fleet.

Leeham News and Analysis
Leeham News and Analysis
Podcast: 10 Minutes About the 737 MAX Return to Service
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6 Comments on “Podcast: 10 Minutes About the 737 MAX Return to Service

  1. And EASA will demand that a 3rd synthetic alfa probe will be installed into its software in the future and will be standard onto the 737-10?

  2. I am still amazed in this day and age that something so terrible, so ill-conceived made it out of Design, past the FAA, down the manufacturing lines and into the air. That being said, I would not hesitate to fly on the 737 MAX. It cost 346 lives and tens of billions of dollars to the company to correct their earlier mistake. This will be studied in business and law schools for decades to come.

  3. In the uproar over the MAX re-certification, no one has commented on the new podcast. So thanks to Scott and Bjorn, this is a great idea and I look forward to future editions.

    The 10-minute condensed format makes it very linkable, I’ve referenced it in non-aviation forums where people are still uncertain about the MAX, but don’t have a technical background. This was very relatable for that audience, it asks and answers the key questions without depending on the listener’s technical aptitude. We probably need more of that in aviation, since it is such a technical field.

    • That approach to communication is very good.

      Podcasts not so much, I see a mess of poorly designed services that are difficult to use, like SoundCloud and something owned by Microsloppy.

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