Congress gives Boeing a reprieve on 737 Max cockpit changes
Two years after passing legislation that would have required substantial cockpit changes in new versions of the 737 Max jet, Congress has agreed to give Boeing a last-minute reprieve, substituting other safety measures to address concerns that arose after two deadly crashes. Boeing said the previous requirement would have been costly to carry out and confusing for pilots trained on other versions of the plane. After 346 people died in two Max crashes, Congress passed a new air safety law in 2020. Among other things, that law set higher standards for pilot alert systems in any plane certified after Dec. 27 of this year. Few lawmakers or executives expected the legislation would apply to the Max, but delays in the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification of two new variants of the plane left Boeing scrambling in recent months to get the deadline extended or waived. The government spending bill unveiled on Tuesday, which is expected to pass this week, keeps the requirement only for planes that first apply for certification after Dec. 27. But the deal, which was proposed by Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, requires that Boeing make two changes to all Max models that some experts recommended after the crashes: installing both an additional system to measure the angle at which the plane meets oncoming air flow — also known as the angle of attack — and a way for pilots to shut off certain distracting stall warnings. “Safety must always drive the day,” Ms. Cantwell, whose state is a major base of Boeing operations, said in a statement. “We should not rush the FAA’s safety approval process. The safety-first alternative is much stronger than the no-strings-attached approach that was first offered. Passengers need to know that the entire Max fleet will be uniform and safer.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-12-21/general/congress-gives-boeing-a-reprieve-on-737-max-cockpit-changes
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Congress gives Boeing a reprieve on 737 Max cockpit changes
Two years after passing legislation that would have required substantial cockpit changes in new versions of the 737 Max jet, Congress has agreed to give Boeing a last-minute reprieve, substituting other safety measures to address concerns that arose after two deadly crashes. Boeing said the previous requirement would have been costly to carry out and confusing for pilots trained on other versions of the plane. After 346 people died in two Max crashes, Congress passed a new air safety law in 2020. Among other things, that law set higher standards for pilot alert systems in any plane certified after Dec. 27 of this year. Few lawmakers or executives expected the legislation would apply to the Max, but delays in the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification of two new variants of the plane left Boeing scrambling in recent months to get the deadline extended or waived. The government spending bill unveiled on Tuesday, which is expected to pass this week, keeps the requirement only for planes that first apply for certification after Dec. 27. But the deal, which was proposed by Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, requires that Boeing make two changes to all Max models that some experts recommended after the crashes: installing both an additional system to measure the angle at which the plane meets oncoming air flow — also known as the angle of attack — and a way for pilots to shut off certain distracting stall warnings. “Safety must always drive the day,” Ms. Cantwell, whose state is a major base of Boeing operations, said in a statement. “We should not rush the FAA’s safety approval process. The safety-first alternative is much stronger than the no-strings-attached approach that was first offered. Passengers need to know that the entire Max fleet will be uniform and safer.”<br/>
