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American Airlines puts Boeing 737 Max back in the air

American Airlines 737 Max
American Airlines 737 Max

An attempt to rebuild confidence in Boeing’s 737 Max after two fatal crashes takes place on Wednesday as American Airlines takes media on a demonstration flight.

The flight by one of Boeing’s biggest customers for the Max is intended to rebuild confidence in the airliner, which has been grounded for more than a year and a half.

The plane was taken out of service in March 2019 following two crashes that killed 346 people, with both incidents linked to flight control systems.

The crashes led to intense scrutiny of Boeing and US aviation regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over the way the 737 Max was approved despite concerns that it contained a potential deadly fault that pilots might not be aware of.

Since the grounding, Boeing has worked intensely to resolve problems with the flight control system and introduce new pilot training.

Timeline | Boeing 737 Max
Timeline | Boeing 737 Max

Last month the FAA cleared the 737 Max to return to the skies.

Steve Dickson, head of the FAA, piloted a test flight and said last month he was “100pc comfortable” with having his family fly in the jet.

American Airlines’ flight from its base at Dallas Fort Worth airport with journalists aboard comes ahead of planned commercial services starting late this month.

The Max is Boeing’s bestselling jet with thousands on order, but the crashes have prompted many airlines to cancel.

Boeing halted production of the plane in January, having built up a backlog of  about 500 aircraft it could not deliver.

Jets had to be stored in staff car parks at the company’s factory in Washington state, along with almost as many that had been delivered to airlines that could not fly them.

As it halted production, Boeing estimated the cost of the 737 Max crashes and groundings at almost $20bn, placing the company in trouble even before coronavirus caused passenger flights to collapse and demand for new aircraft to plummet.

The crashes also cost Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenberg his job.

The demonstration flight comes amid speculation that budget airline Ryanair is about to announce a major order for the 737 Max. The carrier has an option to expand its order by 75 jets to 210 aircraft.