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Boeing 737 Max will be one the 'safest planes ever' with software update and pilot training, says CEO

‘We deeply regret what happened with these accidents’ said the Boeing CEO

Monday 29 April 2019 19:11 BST

Max mix: the latest version of the Boeing 737 makes up a relatively small proportion of customers' fleets (Boeing)

Exactly six months after the first fatal Boeing 737 Max crash in Indonesia, the planemaker has said new software updates and pilot training will make the jet one of "the safest planes ever to fly”.

In the annual general meeting for shareholders in Chicago, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg denied reports that the aircraft, involved in two deadly crashes over the past six months, was rushed to market.

The global fleet of 737 Max jets is currently grounded worldwide while Boeing makes critical software updates to an anti-stall system.

The technology, known as the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), has been implicated in both the Lion Air crash on 29 October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines accident on 10 March 2019. A total of 346 people died.

The preliminary report into the Ethiopian Airlines crash revealed a struggle between the pilots and the anti-stall system installed in the 737 Max.

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

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1/9Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

This picture taken on March 11, 2019, shows debris of the crashed airplane of Ethiopia Airlines, near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. - An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on March 10 morning en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi with 149 passengers and eight crew believed to be on board, Ethiopian Airlines said. (Photo by Michael TEWELDE / AFP)MICHAEL TEWELDE/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Family members mourn the victims at the crash site of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A page of a Boeing flight crew operations manual is seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

REUTERS

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

epa07434278 Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger plane of the Norwegian low-cost airline Norwegian is parked at the tarmac at Vantaa airport in Vantaa near Helsinki, Finland on March 13, 2019. - A number of countries have banned Boeing's 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUTHEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A heap of debris from the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are piled at the crash site near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STR

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A crew working with an investigative team to clear the site after the Sunday crash of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carry debris at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, on a flight from Miami to New York City, comes in for landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, U.S., March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

REUTERS

“Safety is our top priority and there is no question about our commitment to safety and how it’s implemented in our processes,” Mr Muilenberg said.

The MCAS software was just “one link” in a “longer chain of events”.

The software monitors the “angle of attack” between the airflow and the wing. If it becomes too steep, an elevator in the tail automatically lifts to nudge the nose of the plane down, restoring the aircraft to an appropriate trim.

The Boeing CEO defended the development and certification process for the 737 Max, saying it was “thorough” and “disciplined”. He added that the plane’s anti-stall software did meet safety standards.

Boeing is currently making key software updates to the MCAS system, and is doing simulator demonstrations with its customers.

Test pilots have undertaken 146 flights in 737 Max aircraft with the new software, equivalent to 246 hours of flying time, Mr Muilenberg said. Ninety per cent of 737 Max customers have done simulations with the new software, he added.

The software update will prevent “erroneous angle of attack sensor readings from triggering the MCAS system,” said Mr Muilenberg. The updates include using data from two sensors rather than just one. With these updates and further pilot training, the aircraft will become “one of the safest planes ever to fly”.

The CEO also led a minute’s silence for the victims of the 737 Max crashes.

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