03 April,2019 08:10 AM IST | New York | Agencies
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are parked on the tarmac after being grounded. Pic/AFP
Boeing and US aviation regulators say the company needs more time to finish changes in a flight-control system suspected of playing a role in two deadly crashes. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday that it anticipates Boeing's final software improvements for 737 Max airliners "in the coming weeks." Boeing was expected to complete the work last week, but FAA spokesman Greg Martin said the company needs more time to make sure it has identified and addressed all issues.
Chicago-based Boeing offered the same timetable as it works to convince regulators that it can fix software on the planes. "Safety is our first priority, and we will take a thorough and methodical approach to the development and testing of the update to ensure we take the time to get it right," said Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers.
Boeing needs approval not just from FAA, but elsewhere, including Europe and China, where safety officials have indicated they will conduct their own reviews. The planes have been grounded around the world since mid-March. The news from the FAA suggests that airlines could be forced to park their Max jets longer than they expected.
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Eyeing India's multi-billion dollar fighter jet market, Boeing has offered to build a 21st century aerospace ecosystem in India for co-developing F/A-18 Super Hornet upgrades as part of the country's advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) programme. "What we're talking about is a complete ecosystem of capability, it's building up a supply chain, engineering capacity, technical mechanical capacity. It is bringing the build, not the kit, to India," said Marc Allen, president of Boeing International and a member of the Boeing Executive Council.
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