The EU’s Aviation Safety Agency will be taking its own look this week at the Boeing 737 MAX software and hardware upgrades before making its decision on allowing the jetliner to return to the air.
The plane, grounded for nearly 18 months since two fatal crashes brought on by errors in software design and computer hardware, has completed it U.S. re-certification tests, and is awaiting final Federal Aviation Administration approval after a public comment period that expires later this month.
In the past, the FAA and EASA have accepted each other’s certification decisions, but after a raft of publicity about issues in the original certification process and claims that FAA and Boeing are too close to each other, Europe and others are taking their own look.
Simulator tests started Tuesday at London Gatwick. EASA has arranged for physical flight testing to take place next week at Vancouver, Canada, with help from FAA and Boeing. The process will then return to Gatwick on September 14 for a meeting of the Joint Operations Evaluation Board, which includes representatives from FAA, EASA and from Brazil and Canada.
