UPDATES ON THE BOEING 737 MAX GROUNDING, INVESTIGATIONS
June 17, 2019
Investigations of the 737 MAX design and the FAA’s certification process have been launched by multiple entities, including a DOT commission, experts from other government agencies such as NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Congressional oversight committees, the DOT Inspector General’s Office, and even the Department of Justice. These investigations include a focus on the FAA’s practice of outsourcing safety reviews to private actors, including Boeing employees, under a program called “Organization Designation Authorization”. In response to news reporting and the above investigations, the FAA has defended its practice of making safety decisions based on scientific analysis of data and has stated that cooperative relationships between the FAA and regulated entities have improved aviation safety.
On May 23, 2019 the FAA hosted a meeting of global aviation regulators in Dallas, Texas, to discuss the investigations, the process of certifying a fix to the 737 MAX, and the return of the aircraft to commercial service. One goal of the meeting was to restore trust among the world’s civil aviation authorities (CAAs) which has been strained by the staggered grounding of the 737 MAX by CAAs following the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
The FAA will not commit to a timeline for returning 737 MAXs to the skies aside from stating the agency will take as much time as necessary to ensure the plane is safe. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has stated that it expects it could take until August of this year before the 737 MAX returns to service. Once the aircraft is ultimately cleared by the FAA, it remains to be seen if other CAAs will follow suit or take additional time to conduct their own evaluations. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has stated that the following prerequisite conditions must be met in order to lift the operations suspension of the Boeing 737 MAX:
- Design changes proposed by Boeing must be EASA approved and mandated.
- An additional independent design review by EASA must be completed.
- 737 MAX flight crews must be adequately trained.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Alexander Matthews (amatthews@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6633).
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