Chicago (TAN): US aircraft-manufacturer Boeing has said when its 737 MAX aircraft return to the skies, it would be “as safe as any airplane ever to fly”.
In a statement a day after it admitted that the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes – both involving the 737 MAX aircraft – was due to the automatic activation of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg sought to assure client airlines, passengers and other stakeholders that this was an issue that could be corrected.
Several countries and many individual airlines have grounded the 737 MAX aircraft following the two crashes that killed 346 people in total.
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“We now know that the recent Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents were caused by a chain of events, with a common chain link being erroneous activation of the aircraft’s MCAS function. We have the responsibility to eliminate this risk, and we know how to do it,” Muilenburg said and added that Boeing was currently in the process of updating the 737-MAX software “that will prevent accidents like these from ever happening again”.
Boeing will temporarily slow 737 production from 52 aircraft a month to 42 from mid-April.
“We’re adjusting the 737 production system temporarily to accommodate the pause in MAX deliveries, allowing us to prioritize additional resources to focus on software certification and returning the MAX to flight,” he said on Friday.
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The CEO also said Boeing was setting up a committee to oversee proper implementation of the company policies and processes for the design and development of the 737-MAX and other aircraft and ensure “the highest level of safety”.
“Safety is our responsibility, and we own it. When the MAX returns to the skies, we’ve promised our airline customers and their passengers and crews that it will be as safe as any airplane ever to fly,” he said.
