EU cautions on Max return with no FAA stamp

Bloomberg

European regulators assessing changes to Boeing Co’s grounded 737 Max will scrutinise the jet’s entire flight-control system before a return to the skies can be approved.
The review by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will include the plane’s displays, alerts and air-data systems, as well as the aircraft’s autopilot function, EASA Director Patrick Ky wrote in a letter and seen by Bloomberg. The update was sent to members of the EU Parliament’s Transport Committee in response to questions they raised last month about aviation oversight. The Max was grounded earlier this year following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed almost 350 people.
For the Max to return to service, Boeing will have to show that the probability of a “catastrophic failure” is less than one-in-a-billion flight hours — the standard in the industry,
according to Ky.
When an action by a crew member is required to meet those odds, EASA will re-evaluate “both the man-machine
interface and the training” procedures for pilots, he said. In each of the Max accidents, pilots tried unsuccessfully to pull the plane out of a dive triggered by an erroneous sensor.
EASA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agency’s letter shows the extent of the European regulator’s plans for independently ensuring the Max’s safety, which could add to the time the plane remains grounded in the region. Some members of the EU parliament’s transport committee have raised concerns that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delegated part of the aircraft certification process to Boeing itself, and queried whether there were safeguards between EASA and European manufacturers.
Deadly Descents
Investigations into the cause of the two incidents have focused on a flight-control system that may have contributed to the planes’ deadly descents shortly after takeoff. Ahead of a meeting of global safety agencies, Boeing said it had successfully performed more than 200 flights with an upgraded version of the software.
“We have been working closely with EASA, FAA and other global regulators on the process they have laid out for certifying the updated Max software along with the associated enhanced pilot training and education that will help prevent accidents like these from ever happening again,” Boeing said in an email.
“Once we have addressed the information requests from the FAA, we will be ready to schedule a certification test flight and submit final certification documentation,” the company said.
Europe’s biggest pilot lobby criticised EASA, demanding that the agency take a hard stance in vetting US plans to return the Max to service and to make an effort to repair the confidence of air crew in regulators. Jon Horne, president of the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots at Max customers including Ryanair Holdings Plc and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, called for new training requirements, including new additional simulator training which Boeing has so far resisted.
EASA is “permanently self-reflecting” on improving the oversight system in Europe and “any accident or serious incident may provide important inputs to this reflection,” Ky said.

Boeing to SpiceJet: 737 Max will be back by July
Bloomberg

Boeing Co has told one of the biggest 737 Max buyers, Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd, that the grounded jet should be back in the air by July, signalling a quicker return for the plane than many in the industry expect.
“The timeline that’s been communicated to us based on their experience is July — end of June basically,” SpiceJet’s Chief Financial Officer Kiran Koteshwar said. “We are expecting it to be July.”
That’s a more bullish timeline than most regulators and airlines have predicted after the best-selling jet was grounded worldwide in March following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
European regulators assessing proposed changes to the Max are planning to scrutinise the jet’s entire flight-control system before a return to the skies can be approved, while US aviation regulators said they won’t rush the matter. Regulators in Indonesia, one of the biggest markets for the plane, has signaled it may keep the jet parked until next year.
“All the other regulators will also have to be happy with them,” Koteshwar said. But he said Boeing is “pretty confident” it will get all approvals by July.
Representatives for Boeing in India didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials from China, Canada and the EU have signalled they intend to independently review changes to the Boeing planes before allowing flights to resume. South Korean authorities are also said to be making their own decision, after monitoring steps taken by regulators in Europe and China.
SpiceJet has been in talks with Boeing for compensation although hasn’t yet received any, Koteshwar said. The amount will depend on how long the plane stays on the ground, he said.
The Indian carrier, which had taken delivery of 13 Max jets before the model was grounded, still expects to receive as many as 25 more in the current financial year.