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Boeing 737 Max: Planemaker completes 96 test flights with new software as Southwest grounds jet until 5 August

The software 'functioned as designed', according to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg

Friday 12 April 2019 11:50 BST

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Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) grounds Boeing 737 MAX 8

Boeing has completed 96 test flights on the 737 Max 8 jet upgraded with new software, as it struggles to regain the trust of airlines and global aviation regulators.

The planemaker’s CEO, Dennis Muilenberg, said that Boeing had flown 159 test hours on the upgraded jet, and that the new software had “functioned as designed”.

Speaking at the George W Bush Presidential Center Forum on Leadership in Dallas, Texas, he said that “additional test and production flights” would be undertaken in the “coming weeks”.

“As we continue working closely with our airline customers and global regulators to return the 737 Max to service, I’m focused on making the adjustments necessary to allow our teams to prioritise additional resources and focus on the recovery efforts,” he added.

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

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1/9Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

This picture taken on March 11, 2019, shows debris of the crashed airplane of Ethiopia Airlines, near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. - An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on March 10 morning en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi with 149 passengers and eight crew believed to be on board, Ethiopian Airlines said. (Photo by Michael TEWELDE / AFP)MICHAEL TEWELDE/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Family members mourn the victims at the crash site of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A page of a Boeing flight crew operations manual is seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

REUTERS

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

epa07434278 Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger plane of the Norwegian low-cost airline Norwegian is parked at the tarmac at Vantaa airport in Vantaa near Helsinki, Finland on March 13, 2019. - A number of countries have banned Boeing's 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUTHEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A heap of debris from the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are piled at the crash site near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STR

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A crew working with an investigative team to clear the site after the Sunday crash of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carry debris at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, on a flight from Miami to New York City, comes in for landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, U.S., March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

REUTERS

Boeing has been working on a software update to the troubled Boeing 737 Max ever since the jet was grounded worldwide following the Ethiopian Airlines crash on 10 March 2019. The plane crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa on a routine flight to Nairobi, marking the second deadly crash of the 737 Max aircraft following the October 2018 Lion Air crash.

The preliminary report into the Ethiopian Airlines crash revealed a struggle between the pilots and the anti-stall technology, MCAS, installed in the 737 Max.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of Ethiopia (AIB) said that one minute after take-off from Addis Ababa, “the airspeed and altitude values from the left air data system began deviating from the corresponding right side values”. Before the 737 had been aloft for two minutes, a faulty sensor triggered a false warning of a potential stall, beginning a fatal chain of events. The captain and first officer did all they could, the report concluded, but they could not save the doomed jet.

In his remarks yesterday, Muilenberg added: “The update will make the 737 Max even safer by preventing erroneous angle of attack sensor readings from triggering the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, something that initial investigation reports indicate occurred in both Max accidents, as one link in a longer chain of events.”

“We’ll do everything possible to earn and re-earn that trust and confidence from our airline customers and the flying public in the weeks and months ahead.

“We take the responsibility to build and deliver airplanes that are safe to fly and can be safely flown by every single one of the professional and dedicated pilots all around the world. My team and I are working closely with our customers to answer their questions, get their feedback and ensure those who operate the Max are prepared when the grounding is lifted and the fleet returns to flight.”

Boeing has spoken to regulators and airlines in the US, Singapore, the UK and China, Muilenberg said, and more than two-thirds of pilots for airlines that fly the Max had “participated in a simulator session that included the new software update”.

It comes as Southwest Airlines, one of the biggest operators of the Max in the US alongside American Airlines, confirmed that it would ground its Max fleet until 5 August.

In a statement, Southwest said it was working to iron out its summer schedule, and would ground the troubled jet until that time to “add further stability” for customers booking vacations.

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“While the timing for the return to service of the Max remains unclear, what is very clear is our commitment to operate a reliable schedule,” it said.

Affected customers would be notified of the change in schedule, Southwest said, adding that the no-frills airline would “reacommmodate” their flights in advance.

“Safety has always been our most sacred responsibility to both our employees and our customers, and we will continue to remain in full compliance with all FAA directives and any additional requirements necessary to return this aircraft to service.”

Earlier this week, American Airlines said it would ground all Max jets until early June.

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