Boeing has just over three weeks to change a bitter reality: the obligation to include a new crew alert system on the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 jets.
As of December 27, a new law approved by the US Congress in 2020 will come into force, requiring commercial aircraft to have the new equipment, designed to prevent the disasters that killed 346 people in two fatal accidents with the 737 MAX 8.
To save time, the planemaker depends on two proposals that US congressmen are trying to promote in the last days of 2022.
One of them, by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, from Mississippi, would give Boeing an extra two years to certify the two jets. The second came from Senator Maria Cantwell, from Washington, which stipulates that aircraft whose certification request took place until December 27, 2020 (when former President Donald Trump signed the law) would be outside the scope of change.
Congressional requests, however, are not just good news for Boeing, Senator Cantwell also included the need for the manufacturer to change the way pilots can turn off a system called “stick shaker”, which operates at high angles of attack. .
The procedure should be extended to all variants of the 737 MAX if approved.
To include the proposals, the US Congress will take advantage of the vote on a defense bill that will be voted on soon. If successful, Boeing could put the MAX 7 into service in early 2023 and the MAX 10 in early 2024.
Both versions have large orders from airlines such as Southwest, United Airlines, which rely on the aircraft to reduce costs and expand their flight network.
