FAA poised to require electrical wiring fixes before Boeing 737 MAX jets can fly again

US air-safety regulators are poised to order electrical wires relocated inside Boeing 737 MAX jets in the latest complication and potential delay for their return to commercial service, according to people briefed on the deliberations. The preliminary decision, which hasn’t been reported before, covers all of the nearly 800 MAX airliners produced so far. The decision could be affected by further internal discussions and additional data the plane maker may submit to the regulator. But in the past few weeks, these people said, FAA managers and engineers have concluded that the potentially hazardous layout violates wiring-safety standards intended to prevent dangerous short-circuits. Under extreme circumstances, wiring failures could cause flight-control systems to sharply point down an aircraft’s nose in a similar way to the automated maneuvers that brought down two MAX jets and claimed 346 lives. The plane maker has argued that the current wiring design meets FAA and international safety standards. Boeing also has told the FAA that because the risks are so remote—and such a relatively small number of similar short-circuits have occurred during the extensive history of the MAX’s predecessor model—no wiring redesign is necessary. The emerging agency view, however, is based on longstanding regulations put in place following electrical fires and fuel-tank explosions on commercial jets over decades.<br/>