(New York) The United States’ Aviation Agency (FAA) said on Thursday it had warned other air regulators that it was still working with Boeing to solve an electrical problem affecting a total of “about 106” 737 MAX aircraft, including 71 in the United States. States.
The aircraft manufacturer had requested at the beginning of April 16 that the companies operating its main aircraft to stop operating certain devices, without giving details of the number, a time that allows verification of a problem in the electrical supply system.
On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a notice sent to other aviation agencies that it continues to work with Boeing “to determine the extent of the power supply and grounding problem affecting about the 737 MAX. And to find a solution.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a letter it sent to Agence France-Presse that the manufacturer initially indicated that the problem may affect “the operation of the power control unit in an emergency.”
“Subsequent analysis and testing has shown that the problem may involve additional systems”: the circuit breaker board and the main dashboard, the agency added.
However, no incident has been reported related to this potential defect.
The aircraft manufacturer’s general manager, Dave Calhoun, said Tuesday that he cannot give a specific return-to-service date for these devices, but that once the Federal Aviation Administration verifies the validity of the proposed treatment, the latter can be implemented “in a few days.”
An American Airlines official, who had to turn away 18 737 MAX jets, said Thursday pending the implementation of instructions.
“Hopefully it’s a story for a few weeks, not more,” said Robert Essom.
Southwest managing director Gary Kelly said the case was “disappointing”.
“It’s a production problem, fairly simple, and it’s fairly easy to solve, but we can’t risk the slightest consequence, and everyone acts as a precaution,” he said in an interview on CNBC. But “we need MAX because activity starts to resume,” he was annoyed.
The 737 Max, which was banned from flying in March 2019 after two fatal accidents, was allowed to fly again in November in the United States, and then in most parts of the world, after changes to program control of the flight, and the repositioning of some cables. And training of new pilots.
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