Boeing Flags Potential 737 MAX Electrical Issue on Specific Jets
April 09 2021 - 9:14AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Sebastian
Boeing Co. said it has flagged a potential electrical issue in
certain 737 MAX aircraft, asking 16 customers to address it before
further operations.
The disclosure of the possible flaw comes as the U.S. late last
year approved the company's 737 MAX airplanes for passenger flights
again after dual crashes killed 346 people. The troubled jets had
been grounded since March 2019.
Boeing on Friday said it is working with the Federal Aviation
Administration on the production issue and has informed customers
of specific tail numbers. The company will provide guidance on
corrective actions, it said.
The company said it has asked those customers to verify "that a
sufficient ground path exists for a component of the electrical
power system."
Accident investigators have said misfires of an automated
flight-control system, called MCAS, led to the crashes of
Indonesia's Lion Air in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines in
March 2019, when regulators grounded the MAX world-wide. Boeing
spent the past few years hammering out fixes to the system,
revising pilot training and making related changes while responding
to demands from world regulators.
Southwest Airlines Co. said it has removed 30 737 MAX 8 aircraft
that were affected by the notification. The airline said it would
review them and swap any flights previously scheduled with the
aircraft.
"Southwest experienced any known operational challenges related
to the issue," the company said. "Southwest anticipates minimal
disruption to our operation."
--has not
The airline, which has up to 15 MAX aircraft scheduled to fly
each day, last month said it was buying 100 new 737 MAX jets, a
boost for the plane maker that has lost hundreds of orders amid the
jet's prolonged grounding and reduced demand for travel during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Alison Sider contributed to this article.
Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2021 08:59 ET (12:59 GMT)
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