China’s aviation regulator cleared the Boeing
737 Max on Thursday to return to flying with
technical upgrades more than two years after
the plane was grounded worldwide following
two fatal crashes.
China is the last major market where the Boeing
737 Max was awaiting approval after the United
States allowed flights to resume in December
2020 and European Union regulators gave
permission in January. Brazil and Canada also
have given approval.
Governments grounded the Boeing 737 Max
after a total of 246 people were killed in the
crashes of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia on Oct.
29, 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines flight on
March 10, 2019.
Investigators blamed a computer system that
pushed the plane’s nose downward in flight and
couldn’t be overridden by pilots.
Chinese pilots will need to complete new
training before commercial flights can begin, the
Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its
website. It said Boeing Co. is required to install
additional software and components.
“CAAC considers the corrective actions adequate
to address this unsafe condition,” the agency
said in an airworthiness directive.
Boeing’s shares jumped 4.25% in pre-market
trading Thursday.
“The CAAC’s decision is an important milestone
toward safely returning the 737 MAX to service
in China,” Boeing said in a statement. It said the
company was working with regulators “to return
the airplane to service worldwide.”