Boeing finishes software update for 737 Max

Boeing says it has finished its updates to the flight-control software implicated in two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max fleet, moving a step closer to getting the jets back in the sky.

Aviation regulators still have more questions about how pilots interact with the jets’ controls under different circumstances, and Boeing says it is providing that information.

The Federal Aviation Administration, foreign regulators and airlines are reviewing Boeing’s plans for additional pilot training, the company announced Thursday.

The next major step is a certification flight with FAA representatives. That flight has not yet been scheduled.

In crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, an automated system called MCAS mistakenly turned the noses of the 737 Max jets down in response to faulty readings from a single sensor. Pilots were unable to regain control; 346 people died.

Boeing has delivered about 370 Max jets around the world, but they have been grounded since midMarch. That is causing airlines to cancel flights heading into the busy summer travel season. Boeing has disclosed an initial financial hit of $1 billion to fix the aircraft, and new Max jets are parked at its Seattlearea factory and elsewhere because deliveries have stopped.

Boeing engineers have been working on the software update for more than six months — far longer than they expected — having started shortly after the Oct. 29 crash of a Max operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air. The changes will link an antistall feature in the flightcontrol system to two sensors instead of one and will push the nose down less often and less powerfully.

Chicago-based Boeing said it has flown 207 test flights with the new software.

“We’re making clear and steady progress and are confident that the 737 Max with updated MCAS software will be one of the safest airplanes ever to fly,” CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement.

Boeing developed the Max early this decade to compete with a jet from its European rival Airbus that was winning over airline customers with its better fuel efficiency. Critics say Boeing rushed the design of the Max; the company disputes that.

Relatives of passengers killed in the crashes and safety advocates are concerned that the plane could carry passengers again even before investigations into the crashes are completed.

“They are rushing,” said Nadia Milleron, whose daughter, Samya Stumo, was on the Ethiopian Airlines Max that crashed March 10. “That’s the reason that we had this crash. Safety is first; we need to finish the investigations.”

Federal officials say that American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines flew tens of thousands of flights with the Max jets and reported no unusual incidents with MCAS.