In unusual move, FAA chief test flies 737 Max; says more fixes needed

FAA chief Steve Dickson says he has some suggestions for new changes to the Boeing 737 MAX after piloting the grounded jetliner Wednesday. "I like what I saw on the flight," said Dickson, a former airline pilot who flew earlier versions of the 737. "That doesn't mean I don't have some debrief items going forward," said Dickson after his two-hour flight from Seattle's Boeing Field. Dickson said he'd like to see tweaks "not so much in the procedures, but in the narrative that describes the procedures." Federal regulators are still evaluating Boeing's proposed safety changes to the embattled design after a pair of fatal crashes abroad killed 346 people, grounding the plane worldwide in March 2019. Dickson stressed his unorthodox flight was not part of the official FAA recertification process — which Dickson said is in the home stretch. The 18-month grounding has cost Boeing at least $18b. And it has missed a series of target dates for getting approval for the plane to again carry passengers. Before the Covid-19 pandemic it had been expecting approval for the plane by the middle of this year. But the pandemic, and the resulting plunge in air travel worldwide, has led virtually all airlines to park a large percentage of their planes, reducing the need for Boeing to win the approval for the plane to fly sooner than later. The daughter of Joseph Waithaka, who was killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, called the flight a "gimmick." "It's nothing but a clown in a suit to reassure the public that everything is fine," Zipporah Kuria said in an email shared by her attorney. "It's clearly a PR stunt for the FAA and a free endorsement for Boeing." Dickson told reporters the flight was "not a publicity stunt."<br/>