The crew put the jet through repeated changes
in direction, speed and altitude as it headed
east over the Cascade Range into central
Washington state, according to data from
tracking site Flightradar24.com. Dickson said
he landed the plane twice and also did “some
air work maneuvers.”
The Max has been grounded since March
2019, after the second crash. Both times, an
automated anti-stall system pushed the nose of
the plane down based on faulty readings from
sensors. Boeing hopes to win FAA approval
later this year for changes it has made to flight-
control software and computers, including
tamping down the anti-stall system’s power and
adding redundancies.
“I liked what I saw on the flight this morning,
but we are not to the point yet where we have
completed the process” of certifying Boeing’s
changes, said Dickson, who had vowed to fly the
plane himself before the FAA cleared it to carry
passengers again.
Zipporah Kuria, a British citizen whose father
died in the second Max crash, called Dickson’s
flight “a gimmick” to reassure the public.
“Just because Dickson flies in a 737 Max 8
doesn’t make it safe,” she said. “It’s clearly a
PR stunt for the FAA and a free endorsement
for Boeing.”
Michael Stumo of Massachusetts, whose
daughter died in the second crash, criticized
the FAA for not publicly disclosing technical
descriptions and test data it is using to judge
the plane. Dickson said the FAA is working
closely with other global regulators and being
transparent in its review of the plane.