Image: AP
Reuters is reporting that Boeing is telling airlines that “it is targeting U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval of its software fix as early as the third week of May and the ungrounding of the aircraft around mid-July.” Boeing said it made the final test flights of revised software last week and is expected to submit it to the FAA soon.
As previously reported, the changes will center on the authority of the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) to move the horizontal stabilizer and the number of times the system, which is supposed to prevent the 737 from stalling at high angles of attack and power, will activate. Boeing will also tie the system to both left and right angle-of-attack (AOA) vanes; previously, the system relied on the input of just one AOA sensor.
Whenever the new software arrives, the FAA will doubtlessly take great care vetting the solution. And yet this will not be the final steps for Boeing, as it still has to revise and have approved training materials for the 737 MAX’s MCAS. Then it, along with the FAA, needs to convince foreign aviation authorities to lift their flight restrictions, though this is not likely to be a certain thing based on the positions taken publicly by China and the European Aviation Safety Agency. This is in addition to the multinational review committei looking into how the software was initially approved.
The continued grounding impacts Boeing and air travelers alike. Previously, United Airlines said it would cancel all 737 MAX flights through July, while American has canceled flights through Aug. 5. The aircraft has been grounded globally since March 10. Boeing’s stock closed Tuesday at $374 per share, down from $440 a share on March 1.
