crashes. Boeing, which describes changes to the
plane on its website, and the FAA say the system
has been made less powerful and easier for
pilots to override.
Some of the family members, however, wanted
a deeper, nose-to-tail review of the plane.
And they don’t trust Boeing or the FAA, which
allowed the plane to keep flying after the first
crash, in Indonesia in 2018.
“It hasn’t been evaluated to the point where
we can say that it’s safe,” said Nadia Milleron,
whose daughter was killed in the second crash,
which occurred in Ethiopia. “This plane hasn’t
flown very much with this new software, the
revamped MCAS, interfacing with the plane.
It’s not responsible for them to put you on
this flight.”
Chicago-based Boeing said Wednesday it
has flown more than 1,400 test flights on
updated Max planes. The FAA said its people
put in 60,000 hours reviewing and testing
Boeing’s work.
American is likely to be the only U.S. carrier
using the Max for several weeks. United Airlines
expects to put the plane back in its schedule
during the first quarter of next year, with
Southwest following in the second quarter.
Regulators in Europe and Brazil have cleared a
path for their airlines to resume Max flights in a
few weeks.
It’s unclear whether the flying public will accept
the plane or avoid it. Some industry officials
believe that fear of getting on the plane has
lessened with time. American says that if
customers don’t want to fly on a Max, it will have
the flexibility to put them on other planes.