By Andy Pasztor and Andrew Tangel
U.S. air-safety regulators are poised to order electrical wires
relocated inside Boeing Co. 737 MAX jets in the latest complication
and potential delay for their return to commercial service,
according to people briefed on the deliberations.
The preliminary decision, which hasn't been reported before,
covers all of the nearly 800 MAX airliners produced so far. The
decision could be affected by further internal discussions and
additional data the plane maker may submit to the regulator.
But in the past few weeks, these people said, Federal Aviation
Administration managers and engineers have concluded that the
potentially hazardous layout violates wiring-safety standards
intended to prevent dangerous short-circuits.
Under extreme circumstances, wiring failures could cause
flight-control systems to sharply point down an aircraft's nose in
a similar way to the automated maneuvers that brought down two MAX
jets and claimed 346 lives.
The Chicago plane maker, according to people briefed on the
details, has argued that the current wiring design meets FAA and
international safety standards. Boeing also has told the FAA that
because the risks are so remote -- and such a relatively small
number of similar short-circuits have occurred during the extensive
history of the MAX's predecessor model -- no wiring redesign is
necessary.
The emerging agency view, however, is based on longstanding
regulations put in place following electrical fires and fuel-tank
explosions on commercial jets over decades.
The FAA's move caps several months of behind-the-scenes
maneuvering between Boeing and the FAA that already has delayed
crucial flights needed to vet fixes to MAX flight-control software
and move forward with certifying the grounded jets as safe to carry
passengers again.
Complications stemming from mandatory wiring changes could delay
FAA directives ungrounding the beleaguered fleet for at least
several weeks, some of the people said, potentially beyond the
mid-June timeline previously projected by industry and government
officials.
The wiring concerns also have turned into a test case of what
Dave Calhoun, Boeing new chief executive, has touted as his more
realistic and conciliatory approach toward FAA safety demands
before allowing the MAX fleet back in the air.
The FAA said on Sunday that it continues to engage with Boeing
on the wiring issue and the MAX will return to service only after
the FAA is satisfied that all safety-related issues are
addressed.
A Boeing spokesman said that discussions with the FAA continue,
but regardless of the outcome the company's estimate for a midyear
return to service is unchanged.
If Boeing continues to press its case in the face of the FAA's
preliminary decision, one of the people briefed on the
deliberations said, the likely upshot would be months of additional
debate involving the FAA and foreign regulators in Europe, Canada
and Brazil.
That is a major reason Boeing, which already has been devising
ways to relocate certain wiring, ultimately is likely to accept the
FAA's position. And from a public perception standpoint, the people
said, U.S. authorities are loath to break with demands from foreign
regulators that wiring fixes must be completed before the fleet is
allowed to resume operations.
Canadian regulators haven't taken an official position yet on
how Boeing should mitigate any risks associated with the wire
bundles, said Nicholas Robinson, Transport Canada's director
general of civil aviation. But privately, according to people
familiar with the details, Canada strongly supports relocating some
wires.
"We've expressed our concerns to the FAA," Mr. Robinson said in
an interview at an aviation event in Washington, D.C., last week.
"We'll look at the FAA's solution," he added, "and then we'll
evaluate if that meets our needs."
The planes have been grounded since March 2019, prompting a
production shutdown, the biggest corporate crisis in Boeing's
history and severe disruptions to the global airline industry.
Industry and government safety experts have said the wiring
issues should have been identified and resolved during the initial
certification of the MAX. The stricter safety standards for wiring
didn't apply to earlier 737 models.
Among major questions that still need to be answered, according
to these experts, is precisely how and when wiring will be redone
on aircraft which operated before the grounding. Looking forward,
Boeing has agreed to make wiring design changes once the assembly
line revs up again.
The wiring debate follows a long string of setbacks and hurdles
for Boeing regarding recertification of the 737 MAX, including a
recent FAA directive proposing mandatory inspections and fixes to a
metallic lining that serves as a shield against lightning strikes
for engine-control wiring.
Before the FAA will authorize resumption of passenger
operations, MAX jets also will be subjected to checks of fuel tanks
for debris, along with verification of mandatory inspections,
maintenance procedures and operational readiness flights. Unlike
past FAA procedures, agency officials won't delegate signoff
authority to Boeing to ensure MAX jets are airworthy and ready for
airline operations.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com and Andrew Tangel
at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 08, 2020 19:03 ET (23:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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