Key Points
- The issue was discovered during a simulator test last week, Reuters reported.
- Shares of the aerospace company dropped more than 1% following the news, but closed the day up.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday that is has found an issue with the
Boeing 737 Max that the manufacturer must address before it lifts the national grounding order.
“The FAA is following a thorough process, not a prescribed timeline, for returning the Boeing 737 Max to passenger service. The FAA will lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so,” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA’s process is designed to discover and highlight potential risks. The FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate.”The issue was discovered during a simulator test last week, Reuters reported. The 737 Max has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes involving the plane. Regulators around the world have pointed to a software issue as a potential cause of the accidents.
Shares of the aerospace company dropped more than 1% following the news, but closed the day up.
“The safety of our airplanes is Boeing’s highest priority. We are working closely with the FAA to safely return the Max to service,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.
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Reuters contributed to this report.
Two people briefed on the matter told Reuters that an FAA test pilot during a simulator test last week was running scenarios seeking to intentionally activate the MCAS stall-prevention system. During one activation it took an extended period to recover the stabilizer trim system that is used to control the aircraft, the people said.
It was not clear if the situation can be addressed with a software update or if it is a microprocessor issue, but Boeing has told the FAA it believes the issue can be addressed with a software upgrade.
A hardware fix could add new delays to the plane’s return to service.