Finds 'No Systemic Performance Issues And Provides No Basis To Order Grounding The Aircraft'

The FAA has released a statement concerning operations of Boeing 737 MAX airplanes following Sunday's accident in Ethiopia, the second accident with fatalities involving one of the new airplanes in five months.

"The FAA continues to review extensively all available data and aggregate safety performance from operators and pilots of the Boeing 737 MAX. Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action," the agency said. "In the course of our urgent review of data on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, if any issues affecting the continued airworthiness of the aircraft are identified, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action.

The agency has also issued a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC) related to the Boeing 737-8 and Boeing 737-9 (737 MAX) fleet. According to that document: "The FAA has dispatched personnel to support the investigative authorities in determining the circumstances of this event. All data will be closely examined during this investigation, and the FAA will take appropriate action if the data indicates the need to do so.

"External reports are drawing similarities between this accident and the Lion Air Flight 610 accident on October 29, 2018. However, this investigation has just begun and to date we have not been provided data to draw any conclusions or take any actions."

According to the FAA, there are 74 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes registered in the U.S. The worldwide fleet numbers 387 airplanes.

Ongoing oversight activities by the FAA include:

• Boeing’s completion of the flight control system enhancements, which provide reduced reliance on procedures associated with required pilot memory items.

The FAA anticipates mandating these design changes by AD no later than April 2019.

Design changes include:

• MCAS Activation Enhancements
• MCAS AOA Signal Enhancements
• MCAS Maximum Command Limit

Boeing’s plans to update training requirements and flight crew manuals to go with the MCAS design change include:

• Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) and Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM)
• Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community
• Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) - notes in Speed Trim Fail checklist
• Airplane Maintenance Manual (AMM)
• Interactive Fault Isolation Manual (iFIM)
• Boeing has proposed Level A training impacts

Prior to making his opening statement at a House Transportation Aviation Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen (D-WA), who represents the district where Boeing is located in Washington State, said Eight Americans and at least 21 United Nations employees were among the 157 people who died in the crash.

"Chair DeFazio, Committee staff and I have been in contact with the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing about the accident and we continue to closely monitor the investigation," Larsen (pictured) said. "I want to provide Committee members with a few updates:

"First, the NTSB, the U.S. accredited representative and lead for the United States, will assist and is assisting Ethiopian authorities in this investigation and currently has people in Ethiopia. Right now, the important thing is that relevant agencies are allowed to conduct a thorough and careful investigation. The Ethiopian Accident Investigations Bureau is the lead on this investigation with support from NTSB and others.

"Second, the FAA and Boeing as well have personnel in Ethiopia to assist in the investigation.

"Third, the FAA issued a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community yesterday stating pilots should continue to use Boeing’s operational safety protocols as previously directed following the Lion Air crash, and American carriers must install design changes no later than April 2019. The Notification does not currently call for the grounding of the 737 MAX fleet.

"I encourage all Members to monitor this situation themselves, and I want you to know staff is available to any Member for any questions that you have surrounding the investigation and can provide updates to you as they become available."

Boeing posted a statement on its website saying it has full confidence in the 737 MAX. "We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. We’ll continue to engage with them to ensure they have the information needed to have confidence in operating their fleets," the company said. "The United States Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators."

(Images from file)

FMI: CANIC, www.faa.gov, www.boeing.com, larsen.house.gov