Boeing completes update of grounded 737 Max after fatal crashes

BOEING has completed a software update for the 737 Max, which has been grounded since the model had a second fatal crash two months ago.

The aircraft manufacturer said the software had been tested for more than 360 hours on 207 flights. Boeing is giving further details to the US aerospace regulator on how pilots interact with the plane’s controls in different scenarios, before scheduling a test flight and submitting the final documentation needed for the airliner to be certified.

Boeing has fought a rearguard action since an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed near Addis Ababa in March, five months after a Lion Air flight was destroyed in Indonesia; 346 people died in the two crashes. The 737 Max has been grounded and production suspended since March. The cost to Boeing had already hit $1bn (£770m) by its annual shareholder meeting in late April.

“With safety as our clear priority, we have completed all of the engineering test flights for the software update and are preparing for the final certification flight,” said Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg. “We’re committed to providing the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] and global regulators all the information they need, and to getting it right.”

Boeing was making “clear and steady progress” and was confident the update would make the 737 Max “one of the safest aeroplanes ever”, he said. “The accidents have only intensified our commitment to our values, including safety, quality and integrity, because we know lives depend on what we do.” Boeing has prepared “enhanced” pilot training materials that are being reviewed with the FAA, global regulators and airlines and has undertaken simulator testing.

The firm could be forced to compensate airlines if accident investigators hold it responsible for the crashes.

Airlines that have been forced to ground their 737s have been racking up costs of $150,000 per plane a day, says aerospace consultancy IBA. Europe’s largest travel agent Tui said on Thursday that it would decide later this month whether to fly the 737 Max this summer. It has started discussions with Boeing over possible compensation payments.

Boeing could also face a financial hit from legal claims by victims’ families and a class action by shareholders accusing it of defrauding them by concealing safety failings.