Boeing to cut down 737 Max production

A worker is pictured next to a Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane on the tarmac at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton. Pic/AFP

Washington: Boeing has announced that it was temporarily cutting production of its best-selling 737 Max airliner as the company works to return the plane to flight following the aircraft's fall-out from crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia in the span of about five months.

"We have decided to temporarily move from a production rate of 52 airplanes per month to 42 airplanes per month starting in mid-April," CNN quoted CEO Dennis Muilenburg as saying in a statement on Friday.

Muilenburg was talking about the company's entire 737 production system, which includes more than just the Max line of jets. But most are Max planes. The Max came under scrutiny following the two involving Indonesia's Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. A total of 346 people died in the two accidents. All of Boeing's 737 Max planes were grounded after the crash in Ethiopia on March 10.

Second life
Boeing is working to develop a software fix that will get the 371 grounded 737 Max jets back in the air.

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