FAA chief pilots test flight of Boeing 737 Max, says still have work to do
Oct 01, 2020
Washington DC [US], October 1 : US federal aviation agency chief Stephen Dickson on Wednesday conducted a test flight of the Boeing 737 MAX, saying that progress has been made to fix the problems with the aircraft.
"We still have some work to do yet. My flight today and the training that I undertook, I think gives me an excellent baseline as an aviator, to be able to understand the systems and understand how they are being utilized," Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Dickson was quoted as saying by the Voice of America.
"It has been a productive, constructive week. I like what I saw on the flight this morning," he said.
Dickson said there is no solid timeline of when the aircraft will be cleared for public use.
Earlier, the Federal Aviation Agency chief had promised he would not approve the airplane until convinced of its safety, which after multiple crashes had led to the killing of 346 people over a five-month period.
After two fatal accidents involving 737 MAX - a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October 2018, and the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March 2019 - the aircraft were grounded around the world and manufacturer Boeing suspended production of this kind of airplanes.
Investigations into the crashes revealed errors in the functioning of the jet's piloting system, lapses in Boeing's safety standard procedures and cover-ups by company officials.
