US: House panel to hold July 17 hearing on aviation safety

A US House of Representatives panel will hold a hearing next week on aviation safety in the aftermath of two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes since October. The July 17 hearing by the House Transportation Committee’s subcommittee on aviation will include Paul Njoroge, who lost his wife, three children and his mother-in-law on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that crashed in March, the committee told Reuters. Witnesses scheduled to testify include Dana Schulze, acting director of the NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety, and officials from the Air Line Pilots Association, Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Professional Aviation Specialists and Transport Workers Union. A committee official said the hearing will cover the overall state of aviation safety, including airports, runways, aircraft certification, and new entrants. Boeing is expected to formally submit its proposed software upgrade and training revisions to the FAA in September after a separate software flaw emerged last month. The 737 MAX is unlikely to resume flying before November because of the time needed for the FAA to review the fix and for airlines to update their planes and complete pilot training.<br/>