Published 14:49 IST, March 9th 2020
US regulators want Boeing to rewire all 737 MAX aircraft before clearing them
US aviation regulators have asked Boeing to rewire all their 737 MAX aircraft before allowing the troubled aircraft to fly passengers again.
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US aviation regulators have asked Boeing to rewire all their 737 MAX aircraft before allowing the troubled aircraft to fly again. As per reports, the entire fleet of Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft were grounded worldwide after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed right after takeoff.
The incident involving the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft occurred less than six months after a plane of the same model was involved in a similar fatal accident in Indonesia. As per reports, experts have blamed both crashed on the planes anti-stall flight system. Both accidents witnessed an uncontrolled drop in the aircraft's nose moments before the planes crashed.
According to reports, regulators have concluded that the wiring layout of their 737 MAX aircraft violates safety standards. Their measures to prevent short-circuit could cause similar sharp drops in aircraft pitch. The order to modify the wiring on planes would apply to almost 800 737 MAX aircrafts that have already been produced and even those that have been handed over to airlines.
According to reports, the Federal Aviation Authority released a statement that said that it was working with Boeing to address the recently discovered wiring issue. The statement also added that the aircraft will be cleared to return to passenger service only after it is satisfied that all safety-related issues were addressed.
Ethiopian Airlines crash killed 157
As per reports, the aircraft manufacturer Boeing claimed that they were discussing the wiring issue with regulators and that they expected the planes to return to service by mid-2020. All 157 people who were aboard the Ethiopian Airlines jet were killed in the crash shortly after its takeoff from Addis Ababa last March. The Ethiopian Airlines crash followed the October 2018 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX that was operated by Lion Air in Indonesia. The aircraft that crashed moments after leaving the Jakarta airport killed 189 people on board.
In February, a US congressional report accused Boeing of brushing off the concerns of engineers and released a "fundamentally flawed' aircraft. The reports also claimes that the Federal Aviation Authority had failed in its duty to exercise oversight of the company and that it ignored warnings about the safety standards of the aircraft from its own experts.
(With inputs from agencies)
14:49 IST, March 9th 2020