FAA boss Steve Dickson signed an order today (19/11) that paves the way for the 737MAX to return to commercial service. Don’t expect to see it in the air in another month or two. There are extensive programs to bring aircraft out of long-term storage, pilots have to be trained and there are still some changes to be made. Further more, flight safety agencies outside the USA, have expressed well motivated mistrust with the FAA by stating that they will make their own evaluation.
No easy ride ahead. Airlines are re-naming the aircraft B737-8 or -9, and at the same time stating that passengers reluctant to fly the plane don’t have to.
Sad story all together. Money talks – and saving money by corner-cutting talks even louder. The aftermath of the Boeing decision to leave the previous company policy of safety, no matter how costly, – and FAA willing to play along (or kept in the dark) – will have courts busy for years.
On a positive note, things blow over. Over time, most of this will hopefully be forgotten, provided the aircraft performs as expected. It is after all the most checked and rechecked plane around. And Boeing can count on the fact that most passengers don’t know much about anything when it comes to what airline or aircraft they fly with. Some state they flew with Thomas Cook or something. And some don’t care, like the 39 year old Florida engineer; ”Flying is a commodity. I’ll fly on whatever the cheapest ticket gets me.”
To say – let’s hope he doesn’t live to regret that – comes out incongruous here.
Flight Safety Blog 