Boeing conducts 'final test' of 737 MAX with software update, says it's making steady progress towards certification

Prior to the certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX by the aviation authorities, the aerospace manufacturer informed on April 18, that it has conducted a final test flight of the narrow-body aircraft’s model with an updated anti-stall system.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Dennis Muilenberg took to Twitter on Thursday and notified that the test flight of the aircraft was carried out on Tuesday.

He added that the test pilots have completed 120 flights totalling more than 203 hours of airtime with the software fix for the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).

Investigators have zeroed in on the system as a factor behind the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes in October and March respectively. The crashes killed a total of nearly 350 people altogether.

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In both cases, the planes nose-dived shortly after takeoff, signaling a problem in a system that was deployed to correct for an aerodynamic issue that tended to cause the plane’s nose to pitch up.

“More than 85 percent of the 50-plus MAX operators around the globe also have had the opportunity to see the update in action during simulator sessions,” added Muilenberg.

Taking pride in his team, Muilenberg thanked all the pilots, engineers and technical experts for clearing the path to make the testing a success.

“I am tremendously proud of the work of our team. This team of Boeing pilots, engineers, technical experts, and our partners are comprehensively testing the software to make sure that it does the job, and they’re taking the time to get it right.”

The CEO further claimed that his team has made the aircraft one of the safest to fly.

“Safety is our responsibility. We own it. And the work of our team will make the 737 MAX one of the safest airplanes ever to fly. That’s our commitment. ”

All 737 MAX aircraft have been banned from the world’s skies since days after the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10. The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday said a portion of the proposed modifications were “operationally suitable” but said it would not rush towards approval.

(With PTI inputs)