Washington (AFP)
The US Civil Aviation Authority - accused of having too close relations with Boeing - urged the builder to be realistic about the 737 MAX flight return schedule. And she seems to have been heard.
Steve Dickson, who a few months ago led the FAA in turmoil and tarnished prestige, met Denis Muilenburg, Boeing's CEO Thursday in Washington.
The giant plane of the aeronautics giant, already ordered to thousands of copies, is grounded since March after two accidents very close together and that have made 346 dead.
Mr Dickson, who said yesterday that the aircraft would not be back in service until 2020, is not happy with Boeing's communications policy in the case accusing the aircraft manufacturer of wanting to force his hand. And he makes it known in terms that leave no doubt in a letter sent to congressional committees in charge of air transport and which AFP has obtained extracts.
The boss of the FAA "fears that Boeing will continue to pursue an unrealistic timetable for return to service because of delays that have accumulated for various reasons," reads the letter.
But "even more worrying, the director wants to say directly to Boeing that some of the public positions (of the aircraft manufacturer) could give the impression of wanting to force the FAA to act faster", according to the missive to the very severe tone.
He therefore intends to remind Mr. Muilenburg to "make it perfectly clear that the FAA and Boeing must take the time it takes to get things right".
The message was heard, according to a brief statement issued by Boeing, who for the first time admitted that the plane will not be back in service until 2020. "We will work with the FAA to fulfill their demands and respect their schedule as we work to put the MAX back into service safely in 2020, "writes the manufacturer.
The multiple investigations conducted both by the aviation authorities in Indonesia, where a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX crashed last year, as well as in Ethiopia after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, the MCAS anti-stall software of the device. They have also updated other manufacturer deficiencies, ranging from a lack of redundancy of some systems to a lack of information pilots.
In the United States, investigations in parliamentary committees have also revealed a very close relationship between the FAA and the manufacturer, with the federal authorities leaving large parts of the Boeing 737 MAX certification process.
The strong tone for Boeing is also due to the fact that the reputation of the FAA, previously considered the benchmark for certification and rigor, is so tainted that its counterparts in other countries have already indicated that they would proceed with their own certification of the 737 MAX, once the Boeing promised modifications were completed.
- 737 MAX, never! -
Even when the 737 MAX revolera, the aircraft manufacturer will not be far out of business. It will have to regain the confidence of the airlines, that of flight crews who have already expressed their reluctance but also travelers.
Only 20% of consumers believe that the plane is safe, concludes a survey conducted by Bank of America and published Thursday.
About 20% of the 2,135 respondents would be ready to fly as soon as it is allowed to fly again, while about 60% of people flying would prefer to wait at least six months before boarding the plane. device, details the document consulted Thursday by AFP.
Meanwhile, the US airline Southwest, the first customer of the 737 MAX, announced Thursday to have "recently" a confidential agreement with Boeing to partially offset the financial losses related to the fact that the aircraft is grounded since March.
Without specifying the amount or nature of the compensation obtained, the company indicates that it will redistribute $ 125 million to its employees in 2020.
© 2019 AFP