EU Aviation Safety Agency Begins Consultations To Rescind Grounding For Boeing 737 MAX

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has launched public consultations concerning the Boeing 737 MAX, eyeing approval for the aircraft to return to service in Europe within months.

The agency on Tuesday published a Proposed Airworthiness Report and is accepting public commentary for a 28-day period, after which it would publish a final Airworthiness Directive, potentially ungrounding the model.

After two fatal accidents involving the 737 MAX � a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October 2018, and the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March 2019 � the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulators around the world grounded the aircraft, and manufacturer Boeing suspended the production of the jets. Investigations into the crashes revealed errors in the functioning of the jet's piloting system, lapses in Boeing's safety standard procedures and cover-ups by company officials.

Last week, the FAA granted Boeing permission to fly the 737 MAX models again but with stringent monitoring of the updated systems that had posed risks.

"EASA made clear from the outset that we would conduct our own objective and independent assessment of the 737 MAX, working closely with the FAA and Boeing, to make sure that there can be no repeat of these tragic accidents, which touched the lives of so many people," EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said in a statement.

The agency estimated that it would publish its final verdict on whether to allow the aircraft to return to its skies by January 2021, also with close monitoring of the plane in service.