All set for Boeing 737 MAX to fly again

US aviation regulators on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) spelled out new requirements for the Boeing 737 MAX before the grounded jet is permitted to fly again.

The Federal Aviation Administration will require a number of changes to "address the unsafe condition" of the aircraft, the agency said in a notice set for a 45-day public comment.

The jet has been grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes. Some of the changes have been publicly discussed by Boeing, such as upgrades to an anti-stall system that has been seen as a factor in both crashes, and modification to a sensor system that had played a role in the accidents.

Other requirements include installing new software and revising the flight manual to mandate new crew procedures.

The requirements do not include new pilot training protocols. Those will be announced later and put out for public comment at a later date, an FAA spokesman said.

The MAX has been grounded worldwide since March 13, 2019, following an Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people. That catastrophe came just a few months after a Lion Air MAX crash that killed 189 people.

The FAA has said it will only permit the jet to fly again when it is satisfied the model has met all safety concerns. The agency completed test flights on the plane on July 1.

The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation.

It is based on earlier 737 designs, re-engined with more efficient CFM International LEAP- 1B engines, aerodynamic changes, which include its distinctive split-tip winglets, and airframe modifications. The new series was publicly announced on August 30, 2011.

It took its maiden flight on January 29, 2016 and gained FAA certification in March 2017. The first delivery was a MAX 8 in May 2017, to Malindo Air, with whom it commenced service on May 22, 2017.

The 737 MAX series has been offered in four variants, offering 138 to 204 seats in typical two- class configuration[13] and a 5,954 to 7,084 kilometer range. The 737 MAX 7, MAX 8 ( including the denser, 200–seat MAX 200), and MAX 9 are intended to replace the 737-700, -800, and -900, respectively.

Additional length is offered with the further stretched 737 MAX 10. As of December 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX had received 4,932 firm orders and delivered 387 aircraft.