FAA Approves Boeing Fixes for Latest 737 MAX Problem

By Andrew Tangel 

Boeing Co. received approval from U.S. air-safety regulators for fixes to an electrical problem that has grounded more than 100 of its 737 MAX jets, the company and a Federal Aviation Administration official said, paving the way for airlines to return them to passenger service within days.

The regulatory approval helps to end the latest embarrassing episode for Boeing, which has been grappling with a series of engineering and quality problems that have affected various aircraft. It is also likely to ease frustrations among airlines that had planned to use their 737 MAX planes as travel demand picks up, following a sharp decline due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Once the electrical fixes are completed, the 109 affected jets, or about a quarter of the global MAX fleet, will be able to return to passenger service after being grounded since early April, according to industry and FAA officials. The fixes outlined in service bulletins to airlines are expected to take a few days per plane to complete, Boeing executives have said.

U.S. airlines have been hoping to have their grounded MAX jets flying again by Memorial Day weekend, in time for the busy summer travel season, industry officials said.

Late Wednesday, a Boeing spokeswoman said the company would work with airlines to complete the repairs while it prepares to resume deliveries.

In early April, Boeing recommended that airlines take certain MAX jets out of service for the coming repairs. The FAA has mandated the fixes be made before the affected jets operated by U.S. carriers can again fly with passengers.

The FAA, in an order issued in late April, said the electrical issue could result in the "loss of critical functions and/or multiple simultaneous flight deck effects, which may prevent continued safe flight and landing."

The electrical issue emerged just five months after the FAA's November clearance of the MAX to resume passenger service. It was grounded for almost two years following two fatal crashes.

Regulators around the globe banned the airplane from flying after a second crash of the jet in early 2019. Both accidents, which claimed a total of 346 lives, were blamed on a faulty flight-control system that sent the jets into nosedives. The earlier grounding was focused on fixes to that system and related training and wiring issues.

Boeing is relying on the resumption of MAX deliveries to generate cash and reverse heavy losses caused by the earlier grounding of the entire global MAX fleet and the pandemic-driven travel slowdown.

The electrical issue stems from an early 2019 manufacturing change. The shift resulted in primer being applied over drilled holes, interrupting the electrical "grounding path" for certain cockpit systems. Previously, Boeing workers drilled two sets of holes. The second set would strip away the primer, allowing metal to touch metal, providing the electrical grounding safeguard. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the FAA had launched an audit to understand how Boeing made the manufacturing change.

Write to Andrew Tangel at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2021 01:31 ET (05:31 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.