‘I Like What I Saw,’ US FAA Chief on Boeing 737 Max Test Flight

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Chief Steve Dickson conducted a nearly two-hour evaluation flight at the controls of a Boeing <BA.N> 737 MAX on Wednesday, a milestone for the jet to win approval to resume flying…

ReutersSep 30, 20203 min read

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Critics, including a crash victim’s father, said the flight amounted to a publicity stunt and demanded the FAA release test data and other information so outside experts can make their own assessments.

“Without that secret data, independent experts and the public cannot confirm whether the aircraft is safe,” said Michael Stumo, whose daughter was among the 157 people killed in the second 737 MAX crash, in Ethiopia.

Dickson said he completed new proposed pilot training requirements, a simulator session, and then conducted midair tests of 737 MAX design and operating changes intended to prevent disasters similar to the two crashes.

In both accidents, a flawed control system known as MCAS, triggered by faulty data from a single airflow sensor, repeatedly and forcefully pushed down the jet’s nose as pilots struggled to intervene.

If Dickson’s flight and broader reviews go well, the FAA is seen as likely to lift its U.S. grounding order in November, sources said on Wednesday, putting the MAX on a path to resume commercial service potentially before year-end.

That timeline jibes with comments last week from Dickson’s counterpart in Europe, Patrick Ky. He said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) expects to lift its technical ban “not long” after the FAA, but national operational clearances needed for individual airlines to resume flying could take longer.

Separately, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday unanimously approved bipartisan legislation to reform the FAA’s aircraft certification process in the wake of the 737 MAX crashes.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; editing by David Gregorio, Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis)