China To Join FAA 737 MAX Review Panel

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, April 09, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

China, the first country to ground the Boeing 737 MAX, is joining an international FAA review panel.
The panel, led by former NTSB chairman Christopher Hart, will scrutinize the 737 MAX's certification process, specifically the MCAS stability system, over approximately three months.
Several international aviation authorities, including EASA and regulators from Canada, UAE, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Ethiopia, and Indonesia, are also participating due to skepticism over the original certification process.

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China, the first country to ground the Boeing 737 MAX after the fatal crash of Ethiopian Flight 102 last month, is set to join the FAA’s review panel. Former NTSB chairman Christopher Hart is running the program, which is expected to run for about three months. The FAA agreed to create an international review board last week as the aviation authorities in several countries indicated skepticism at the certification process that approved the 737 MCAS stability system in the first place.

China joins the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and regulators from Canada, UAE, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Ethiopia and Indonesia on the review panel. Of the 371 737 MAX aircraft in circulation, Chinese airlines operate 97 of them. Southwest Airlines has the largest U.S. fleet, at 34 aircraft.