US: FAA to meet with U.S. airlines, pilot unions on Boeing 737 MAX

The US FAA will this week hold a meeting with major US airlines that fly the currently grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and three major pilots’ unions, the agency confirmed Thursday. The meeting, to be held on Friday at FAA headquarters in Washington, is set for three hours and will include safety representatives from American, United and Southwest as well as officials from the three unions. The FAA is also convening a joint review with aviation regulators from China, Europe, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Ethiopia and other countries. Boeing has reprogrammed software on its 737 MAX passenger jet to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system that is under mounting scrutiny following the two deadly nose-down crashes and revised pilot training. Boeing CE Dennis Muilenburg said Thursday that the software update is working, with about two-thirds of the fast-selling jetliner’s customers having seen the fix in simulator sessions. But on April 1, Boeing said it had delayed submitting the proposed revisions to the FAA for approval. The FAA said the meeting is to help “the FAA to gather facts, information, and individual views to further understand their views as FAA decides what needs to be done before returning the aircraft to service.” The agency “continues to gather all available information and data in considering the return of the 737 MAX to service,” it added.<br/>