Furthermore, it is unclear when the 737 Max may start again – but Boeing sees itself thanks to software update on a good path: The plane will be „one of the safest, which have ever flown“.
Boeing boss Dennis Muilenburg began the shareholders‘ meeting with a minute’s silence for the 346 victims of the two aircraft accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia. He then turned his attention to the future: on the way to the readmission of the blocked 737 Max, his company is progressing well. Boeing has already completed 146 test flights and 246 flight hours with new software.
In the future, this should prevent the nose of the aircraft from being pushed down due to a faulty sensor. Quite literally, Muilenburg said the Boeing 737 Max would be „one of the safest aircraft ever to fly“. In the coming weeks to complete test series with representatives of the air traffic controllers from the US and the EU.
Shareholders worried about imminent consequential costs
However, both shareholders and the media confronted the Boeing CEO with critical questions. Muilenburg dismissed reports that Boeing had neglected safety issues to bring the new aircraft as quickly as possible on the market.
The shareholders are also worried about the imminent consequential costs: Boeing already has to bear $ 1 billion in additional costs. In addition there are claims for damages of the affected airlines and the survivors of the victims. The stock price of Boeing has lost just under 15 percent since the second crash.
Pilots Association criticizes retraining plans
After the software update for the 737 Max, training with the updated software is planned. However, the American Airlines (APA) aviation association criticizes that these are not thorough enough. For example, a panel of experts appointed by the US aviation authority FAA recommended that computer training was sufficient and that simulator training was not necessary. The pilots‘ association, on the other hand, said that a brief computer course did not give the pilots enough confidence to fly the plane with a clear conscience.
