https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane-faa/faa-panel-finds-boeing-737-max-software-upgrade-operationally-suitable-idUSKCN1RS1ZR(Reuters) - A review by a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration panel into Boeing Co’s grounded 737 MAX aircraft found a planned software update and training revisions to be “operationally suitable,” the agency said Tuesday, an important milestone in getting the planes back in the air.More than 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets have been grounded worldwide after nearly 350 people died in two crashes, one in Indonesia in October and another in Ethiopia last month.
Boeing has been announced a planned software update on the 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system known as MCAS that is under scrutiny following the two disastrous nose-down crashes.
The draft report from the Flight Standardization Board (FSB) appointed by the FAA, which includes pilots, engineers and other experts, said additional training was needed for MCAS, but not required to be done in a simulator. The board said ground training “must address system description, functionality, associated failure conditions, and flight crew alerting.” The public has until April 30 to make comments.
The panel evaluated the software update to MCAS for “training and checking differences determination,” the report said. “The MCAS system was found to be operationally suitable.”
Boeing shares closed up 1.7 percent after the news.
