Chinese aviation experts join US-organised panel looking into safety of Boeing 737 Max range
China’s aviation authority will join a United States-organised panel to review the safety of Boeing’s 737 Max plane model, in the wake of two deadly crashes in recent months.
An official at the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told Reuters it will send representatives to sit on the international panel, which is being convened by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Read more: Boeing suppliers' shares hit after 737 Max production scale-down
The aircraft has been grounded across the globe after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that have killed nearly 350 people. China was the first country to do so, following the second crash in Ethiopia last month.
According to Flightglobal data, Chinese airlines operated 97 Boeing 737 Max jets before the grounding, the most of any country. There were 371 of the jets operating in total.
Authorities in Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore have already said they will join the panel, although it is unclear whether the European Aviation Safety Agency will send representatives.
Investigators have found the Ethiopian crash was related to a malfunction with the aircraft’s anti-stall function – known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) – which is also suspected to be behind the crash in Indonesia in October last year.
The aircraft manufacturer has admitted it thinks the same, and has said it will introduce a software update for the MCAS in a bid to resolve the sensor problems.
The incidents have drawn attention to the rapid push to market of the updated version of the jet, amid worries Boeing’s testing and training process has not been rigorous enough.
Boeing said last week it would scale down production of the plane to 42 units a month from mid-April, down from the previous rate of 52 planes a month. Subsequently, major suppliers to the plane maker including Rolls-Royce have lost millions from their market value as investors fear a downturn in business.
Read more: Boeing to reduce 737 model production in wake of crashes
American Airlines admitted this afternoon it too had been hit by the fallout from the incidents, cutting its forecasts for the first quarter.
The airline said the grounding of the jet, combined with the US government shutdown, had pushed its revenue per available seat mile down. Its new projection is for revenue to be flat to up one per cent, compared with a prior forecast of being flat to up two per cent.