After 32 months of grounding, the Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane had a go-around in China. The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice for soliciting opinions on the Boeing 737 MAX airworthiness directive. According to expert analysis, this means that the 737 MAX has been granted a go-around. “Admission ticket”, but there is still a gap between “exam” and “pass”.
According to a report from Chinanews.com, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the “Notice for Soliciting Opinions on the Airworthiness Directives of Boeing 737 MAX” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”), which did not indicate a specific date of issuance.
The “Notice” stated that in order to resolve the unsafe state of the Boeing 737 MAX, Boeing initiated relevant design changes. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has conducted a comprehensive assessment of the relevant corrective measures submitted by Boeing for the aircraft control system software design changes, display system design changes, and aircraft flight manual revisions, and confirmed that the relevant corrective measures can eliminate the unsafe state. The deadline for comments is November 26, 2021.
On October 29, 2018, an Indonesian Lion Air Boeing 737-8 crashed into the sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing 189 people on board; on March 10, 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines 737-8 Airline crashes also broke out, killing 157 people.
After two consecutive crashes, the Civil Aviation Administration of China took the lead in announcing the suspension of commercial flights of Boeing 737-8 aircraft by China’s domestic transportation airlines on March 11, 2019.
In response to the resumption of the Boeing 737 MAX, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has repeatedly emphasized the “three principles”, that is, aircraft design modifications must obtain airworthiness standards; pilots must be fully and effectively trained again; the investigation conclusions of the two accidents must be clear. And improvement measures must be effective.
Qi Qi, associate professor of Guangzhou Civil Aviation Vocational and Technical College, believes that the release of the “Notice” indicates that the 737 MAX has basically met the above three principles and can enter the technical procedures for airworthiness certification.
He said that the 737 MAX has already obtained the “examination admission certificate” and can take the “examination” after the deadline for comments to seek formal approval for the re-fly, but even if the “examination” is passed, China’s domestic airlines will modify the aircraft and train pilots. It also takes time.
At present, 13 Chinese airlines have grounded 97 737 MAXs, and there are still a large number of 737 MAXs waiting to be delivered. Boeing said in October this year that of the more than 370 737 MAX aircraft to be delivered, about one-third belonged to Chinese customers.
According to a previous report by Reuters, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the ban on Boeing 737 MAX in November last year, and then Brazil and the European Union also approved the go-around. For some time in the past, Boeing has been seeking approval for a go-around in mainland China.
In August of this year, it was reported that a Boeing 737 MAX7 flew to Shanghai Pudong for testing. Boeing said the test flight was a success.
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