Commercial flights of the 737 MAX, re-authorized in Canada, here in Calgary, January 21, 2021. -

Jeff McIntosh / AP / SIPA

  • Critical week for the latest Boeing model: after the United States, Brazil and Canada, Europe should allow the return to flight of the Boeing 737 MAX this week.

  • On Monday, the European Parliament's Transport Committee hears the director of the European Aviation Safety Agency, Patrick Ky, on the reasons which led him to authorize this re-entry into service.

  • The device has been grounded since March 2019, following two accidents that killed 346 people, in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The end of the setbacks for Boeing?

It has been 22 months since its last aircraft, the Boeing 737 MAX, lost its authorization to fly after two successive crashes in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.

This week it could be cleared again to fly in Europe, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said.

Before giving the green light, Patrick Ky, the director of the Agency, must pass this Monday before the Transport Committee of the European Parliament.

Because concerns remain: an association of families of victims considers this re-circulation "premature, untimely and even dangerous" and calls for more "transparency" on this decision.

Should we be afraid to climb into these devices?

After lying, did Boeing really solve all the problems? 

20 Minutes

takes stock.

How did the certification of the aircraft go?

“It is the most guarded aircraft of all time.

There is not an aircraft in the world that has been so investigated, ”summarizes Xavier Tytelman, an aeronautics expert, who himself went to Seattle to understand the modifications made to the MAX.

“The plane made hundreds and hundreds of stalls.

The Europeans even went to check and do test flights in Canada, ”he explains.

“We have reached the stage where our four prerequisites have been fulfilled (…) We have benefited from total transparency from the FAA [the American Aviation Safety Agency] and Boeing,” said Patrick Ky during the week last.

The association of relatives of victims "Flight ET 302 Solidarity and justice", however, calls for more transparency on the decision of the agency.

She says she wants "to understand what founded the EASA decision and that the demonstration be made that this new flight authorization presents with certainty all the safety guarantees".

A mistrust of the control authorities linked to the failings of the FAA, accused of having subcontracted to Boeing the control of certain functions of the aircraft.

As for the refusal of China to put the plane back into service, pointed out by the association, Xavier Tytelman sees it as a diplomatic and economic war, more than a refusal justified by a potential danger.

What improvements have Boeing made?

The American manufacturer has implemented changes to the flight control software called MCAS, which pilots on Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights have failed to master.

During the two accidents, it was after having received erroneous information from a probe, indicating that the airplane was in stall, that the MCAS software had pitched the airplane.

“If a probe was defective, which was the case in the crash, the system would go on endlessly to give weight to the pilot's handle.

Today, this system is limited to two pulses and will no longer have an impact on the trajectory of the aircraft, ”says Xavier Tytelman.

A third digital probe must also be installed on planes from 2022. In the meantime, specific training for pilots to identify and manage conflicting information from the two probes is being put in place.

The United States and Europe also require airlines to perform a test flight without passengers on each aircraft before operating it to ensure that the changes have been properly implemented.

The president of the Flight ET302 association, Virginie Fricaudet, for her part deplored “the return to flight of this aircraft” which “has undergone minimal modifications”.

"We are subjected to silence by not informing us, especially when we are aware of the dimension of the scandal," she said.

Will we be able to refuse, as in the United States, to fly on a 737 MAX?

In the United States, American Airlines assures that any customer purchasing a plane ticket will be warned if he flies on a 737 MAX.

The company is committed to offering alternatives to any passenger who does not wish to fly on the device.

In Europe, this policy could also be implemented: “During the first years, some people will want to avoid this plane.

It would seem legitimate to me that they have the choice.

We could, for two or three years, accept a refund of the ticket, for example, ”said Xavier Tytelman.

On the other hand, the 737 MAX are intended to carry passengers and not freight, for which they are not suitable.

How many models will they circulate in Europe?

Since it entered service, 67 examples of the device have been delivered to European customers.

A total of 723 aircraft have been ordered by fourteen European companies - none French -, of which 210 remain to be delivered to Ryanair, 92 to Norwegian Air Shuttle and 63 to Turkish Airlines.

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