Boeing Co.'s beleaguered 737 MAX made the first of three recertification test flights on Monday, more than 15 months after the aircraft was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration following two fatal crashes.
The tests were conducted by the FAA and mark the first step toward putting the 737 MAX - Boeing's most popular selling plane - back in the air.
Two more recertification flights are scheduled.
The FAA said Monday's test departed from Boeing Field in Seattle and flew east over Washington state in a flight that lasted several hours. In a statement, the FAA said it will be putting the aircraft through "a wide array of flight maneuvers and emergency procedures to assess whether the changes meet FAA certification standards."
The plane was grounded in March of 2019 following two fatal crashes in less than five months killed 157 passengers and crew aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight and 189 board a Lion Air flight. Investigators say both crashes were the result of a software problem with the control system that put the planes into a nosedive that pilots could not overcome.
"While the certification flights are an important milestone, a number of key tasks remain," the FAA said in its statement. "The FAA is following a deliberate process and will take the time it needs to thoroughly review Boeing's work. We will lift the grounding order only after we are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards."
For Boeing, it still remains to be seen if airlines - not to mention the flying public - will literally be buying in to the plane's return. Norwegian Air on Monday became the latest carrier to cancel an order for the 737 MAX, canceling 92 of the planes, joining a host of other airlines who have done the same.
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