

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines, is among the dissenters, believing that holding the line on the deadline-and forcing Boeing to add an EICAS to get the new variants approved-is appropriate. Boeing, the Air Line Pilots Association, and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association believe a common flight deck is the safer option, arguing that flight deck variations within a subfleet introduce more risk than adding an Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) to two variants would eliminate. Industry remains divided on the best way forward. But other changes in the law and FAA’s more exacting approach to certification projects following the 737 MAX crisis have prolonged both certification programs and put the deadline into play. The new flight crew alerting requirements were given a two-year window to ensure Boeing wrapped up certification of the 737 MAX family, which was granted exemptions from some current requirements, at Boeing’s request, to maintain commonality between the families. The pending deadline stems from a 2020 law that ordered changes to FAA certification protocols. The FAA does not support the procedure, citing risks of pilots taking their attention away from flying the aircraft or monitoring its state. Several regulators, including EASA and Transport Canada, green-lighted a procedure that lets pilots pull a circuit breaker to silence a stick-shaker alert if necessary.
#737 MAX FLIGHT DECK SOFTWARE#
While poorly designed software behind an addition to the 737 MAX’s flight control system and Boeing’s decision to keep pilots out of the loop about the changes were the main contributors to each accident, faulty AOA data and related nuisance alerts played roles in confusing both flight crews. The nuisance-alert switches were revealed publicly during the aircraft’s appearance at the Farnborough Airshow in July.Īdding a third AOA source and helping pilots suppress nuisance stick-shaker alerts were two of the top priorities regulators identified during their reviews of the 737 MAX’s design following fatal accidents in 20 that led to the fleet’s grounding. in order to ensure the long-term safety of the 737 MAX.”īoeing began testing the new AOA data source in March as part of 737-10 certification. One is a third angle-of-attack (AOA) data source, and the other is a switch that would allow pilots to silence nuisance stick-shaker stall warnings.ĮASA’s January 2021 return-to-service report said both would be introduced on the 737-10 and “retrofitted on in-service MAX airplanes.

Without the relief, a December 2022 deadline prohibiting the FAA from approving new transport-category aircraft without flight crew alerting kicks in, and Boeing would be forced to modify the aircraft’s flight decks or cancel the programs.Ĭantwell’s proposal, first reported by The Seattle Times, pulls in two upgrades Boeing agreed to develop to satisfy European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) concerns raised during the model’s 21-month grounding. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), would open the door for Boeing to wrap up lengthy certification efforts on the 737-7 and 737-10 without requiring the models to comply with specific flight crew alerting rules. operators to retrofit their fleets with two safety enhancements that European regulators required as part of their return-to-service parameters. WASHINGTON-A bill under consideration to grant Boeing more time to earn approval of its last two 737 MAX variants without flight deck upgrades would also require U.S.
