Boeing claims success in MAX test flight

BEIJING. Boeing Co’s 737 MAX test flight for China’s aviation regulator last month was successful and the plane maker hopes a two-year grounding will be lifted this year, the head of Boeing’s China business said on Wednesday.

“It went off without a hitch,” Boeing China President Sherry Carbary said of the test flight, speaking on the sidelines of Airshow China, the country’s biggest air show. Boeing working with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) as it sifts through data and finalises reports before deciding whether the plane can be returned to service, Carbary said.

The ban, which has been lifted in the West and several Asian countries, could be eased in China around November, people close to the matter said.