Employees walk by the end of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington. The FAA has identified a new risk that Boeing must address before the plane can return to service. Reuters
Employees walk by the end of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington. The FAA has identified a new risk that Boeing must address before the plane can return to service. Reuters
Employees walk by the end of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington. The FAA has identified a new risk that Boeing must address before the plane can return to service. Reuters
The US aviation regulator discovered a new safety risk in the troubled Boeing 737 Max jet and ordered the plane maker to make additional design changes, further delaying the grounded plane's return to the skies.
The Federal Aviation Administration's process is designed to discover and highlight potential risks, it said on Wednesday. Boeing's shares dropped 4.5 per cent at the start of market trading on Thursday.
"The FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate," the agency said without elaborating. "The FAA will lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so."
Boeing has been working to return its most profitable aircraft back to service from a global grounding that was imposed in March in the wake of two fatal crashes within five months killing 346 people.
The plane manufacturer is addressing the issue by removing a potential source of "uncommanded" movement by the jet’s stabiliser.
"Boeing agrees with the FAA's decision and request, and is working on the required software," it said.
The latest fault was discovered during a simulator test last week and it is not yet clear if the issue can be addressed with a software upgrade or will require a more complex hardware fix, Reuters reported. An FAA test pilot during a simulator check was running scenarios meant to intentionally activate the MCAS stall-prevention system, according to the news agency. During one activation, it took an extended period to recover the stabiliser trim system that is used to control the aircraft.
Boeing has been working on a software upgrade on the Max's stall-prevention system known as MCAS since Indonesia's Lion Air crash in October.
"Federal Aviation Administration identified an additional requirement that it has asked the company to address through the software changes that the company has been developing for the past eight months," Boeing said.
The discovery means Boeing will not conduct a certification test flight until July 8 in the best-case scenario, though it could face delays beyond that, Reuters said.
The FAA said it will "continue to evaluate Boeing’s software modification to the MCAS and we are still developing necessary training requirements."
The company is also working on recommendations from the Technical Advisory Board, an independent panel reviewing its work regarding 737 Max's return to service.
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) called on global aviation regulators and the FAA to align their efforts on technical validation requirements, crew training requirements and timelines to return the Max to the skies.
Iata recognised the role of the FAA as a Max certifying regulator and acknowledged the need for other safety regulators to make independent decisions while urging for unity.
Aviation "relies on global standards, including mutual recognition, trust, and reciprocity among safety regulators", Alexandre de Juniac, Iata director general, said in a statement on Thursday. "Aviation cannot function efficiently without this coordinated effort, and restoring public confidence demands it."
The comments came after Iata met with more than 40 airlines, safety regulatory authorities, plane manufacturers and aircraft lessors at the second Boeing 737 Max summit in Montreal on Wednesday.
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
GroupA: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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