BBC: 737 Max - Still Not Fixed

[Charlie_Fox]

EU approves Boeing 737 Max return to service

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified that the redesign of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft has met the conditions for a return to service in Europe. However, its actual return may take some time as the EASA mandated a package of software upgrades, electrical wiring rework, maintenance checks, operations manual updates and crew training which will allow the plane to fly safely in European skies. Aircraft operators will schedule these mandated actions under the oversight of Member States’ national aviation authorities. Moreover, subsequent travel restrictions across Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic will certainly have an influence on the pace of the aircraft’s return to normal commercial operations. The plane has been grounded worldwide since March 2019 following two crashes in October 2018 and March 2019, which together claimed 346 lives. The main cause for the loss of control of the Lion Air Flight 610 and the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was traced to software known as the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), which automatically pushed the airplanes nose down repeatedly due to a sensor fault.