US and European regulators have asked Boeing to revise documentation on its proposed 737 MAX software fix, the planemaker confirmed Wednesday, a development that further complicates its efforts to return the jet to service by year-end. The world’s largest planemaker submitted documentation in a key part of an approval process, already delayed by months, for a 737 MAX software upgrade in the wake of two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people, but has been asked to submit revised documentation. US FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency officials flagged a number of issues over the weekend at an FAA facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during a documentation audit of how the new software was developed, sources told Reuters. “We think there is still some work to be done,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said Monday. A person with knowledge of his thinking said he was partly referring to the documentation audit that is not yet complete. Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Wednesday the company “provided technical documentation to the regulators as part of the software validation process. The documentation was complete, and it was provided in a format consistent with past submissions. Regulators have requested that the information be conveyed in a different form, and the documentation is being revised accordingly.” One person briefed on the matter characterised the issue differently and said Boeing’s paperwork had gaps, was substandard and meant regulators could not complete the audit, a crucial step before the plane can be certified to return to service.<br/>
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Boeing’s embattled boss said he has considered stepping down in the wake of two deadly crashes but vowed to stay on to lead the planemaker through one of the worst crises in its 103-year history. “It’s fair to say I’ve thought about it,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said Wednesday about resigning. “But to be frank, that’s not what’s in my character.” The Chicago-based manufacturer has been engulfed in crisis since March, when regulators grounded its best-selling 737 Max after two accidents killed 346 people. The pressure on Muilenburg has mounted as the plane’s anticipated return has slipped from May to Q4 -- or beyond -- while regulators scrutinise redesigned software for the jet’s flight control system. The accidents “happened on my watch, and I feel obligated, I feel responsible to stay on it, work with the team to fix it, to see it through,” Muilenburg said. Muilenburg said he would still like to be Boeing CEO three years from now, adding that he intended to stay on “as long as the board allows me to serve in this role.<br/>
Boeing is planning an initial investment of around $1b into industry-wide pilot development as part of a long-term initiative to reduce risks like those faced by the crew in two 737 MAX crashes, people familiar with the matter said. The embattled planemaker is trying to rebuild trust and cooperation with airlines, passengers and regulators around the world after the 737 MAX was grounded in March, following crashes in which a total of 346 people died. Details of the company's "Global Aviation Safety" initiative remain under wraps due to delays in returning the 737 MAX to service, as attention focuses on changes to cockpit software that investigators say played a major part in the two crashes. Boeing will launch the pilot development project after regulators approve changes to 737 MAX software and training and the plane resumes flights, one of the people familiar with the matter said. The company currently expects that to happen in the United States by year-end. The plane is likely to return to service in Europe during the first quarter of 2020, the head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said earlier this week. The pilot project spending budget, people familiar with it said, will be in addition to the more than $8b in costs from compensation to airlines for delayed aircraft deliveries and lower production tied to the 737 MAX grounding. The training initiative is still being developed and will be rolled out over years, one of the people said. While costs are expected to rise over time, the effort may overlap with future aircraft programs.<br/>
French volunteer search teams have found fragments from an engine that exploded in mid-air over eastern France in July, officials said on Wednesday. The discovery came in an unprecedented search operation involving 150 members of the public after French air accident investigation agency BEA asked volunteers to help comb a forest for a titanium engine part following two engine explosions on Airbus A220 jets operated by the airline Swiss since July. A third engine suffered a similar blowout last month, forcing it to divert to Paris where it scattered some parts during landing, according to French officials. “Three fragments from the engine have been found by the ... volunteer team ... Thanks to all participants of this first day,” BEA said on its Twitter feed. The engine incidents have prompted worldwide engine checks on Airbus A220 and some Embraer aircraft, but no flaws have been found. They have heightened scrutiny of a new generation of fuel-saving engines built by U.S. manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies, after a series of reliability problems. But a version of the engines used on Airbus’s larger and more widely used A320 series is not affected by the checks. <br/>
A pilot accidentally triggered a hijacking/hostage taking alarm in a plane’s cockpit, causing a major security lockdown on Wednesday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest. An investigation is underway to determine what went wrong, Dutch military police said. “In a plane (set to fly) from Amsterdam to Madrid tonight an alarm was accidentally activated which set off safety protocols at the airport,” Spanish-owned Air Europa said. “There was no cause for alarm. All passengers were fine and waiting for the flight to take off.” It added: “We are sorry. There was no cause for alarm.”<br/>
Aircastle said Wednesday Japan’s Marubeni Corp and Mizuho Leasing Co Ltd had offered to buy the aircraft lessor in a deal valued at $2.4b, ending a nearly two-week long strategic review of its business. Shares of the company rose 16% to trade in line with the offer price of $32 per share. Marubeni, the company’s largest shareholder, has a 29% stake in Aircastle as of Oct. 23 that is currently valued at about $600m. Aircastle, which owned and managed 277 aircraft in 48 countries as of Sept. 30, counts American Airlines, Southwest and United among its customers. Airline bankruptcies have increased this year at the fastest ever rate, led by the collapse of India’s Jet Airways, British travel group Thomas Cook and Avianca of Brazil, adding pressure on aircraft leasing companies.<br/>