Published on : Friday, May 17, 2019
The U.S. top aircraft manufacturer said it has flown the 737 Max with an updated flight control system, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), for more than 360 hours on 207 flights.
“Boeing has completed development of the updated software for the 737 MAX, along with associated simulator testing and the company’s engineering test flight,” it added.
Boeing President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company has finished all of the engineering test flights for the software update and is preparing for the final certification flight.
Muilenburg expressed confidence that the updated MCAS software will make 737 Max aircraft “one of the safest airplanes ever to fly.”
Investigators believed a flaw in the MCAS software was a contributory factor to the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya, on March 10, 2019, which killed all 157 people aboard.
The FAA is planning a meeting next month in Texas with air regulators from around the world to review the update of the Boeing software fix and new training and education programs for pilots on airplanes with the updated flight control system.
Tags: Software update