Boeing 737 Max cleared to fly in Australia

Australia’s aviation safety regulator has given the all clear for the Boeing 737 Max to operate here again, almost two years after the aircraft was first grounded.

Eight 737 MAX were among the collection of aircraft assembled in Alice Springs during the COVID crisis, but they will soon be on their way home to Singapore and Fiji. Picture: Ted Zheng

Almost two years after the global grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, Australia’s aviation safety regulator has cleared the aeroplanes to fly again.

The 737 Max was grounded in March 2019, after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in a space of five months.

A total of 346 lives were lost in the crashes, attributed to a feature known as the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system or MCAS which forced the nose of the aircraft down repeatedly in response to erroneous information from one sensor.

Pilots were not told about the feature, and thousands are now part of a class action against Boeing as a result of the subsequent 737 Max grounding.

After a number of inquiries, and a major software redesign for the aircraft to resolve the issues exposed by the fatal crashes, the US Federal Aviation Administration and European Safety Aviation Agency recently issued return to service airworthiness directives.

Airlines who operate the aircraft will be required to provide extra training for 737 Max pilots, who previously undertook just a one-hour iPad course to make the switch from 737-800s.

While no Australian airlines currently count the 737 Max as part of their fleet, Virgin Australia has 25 737 Max 10s on order with the first to be delivered in mid-2023.

Late last year Virgin axed 23 Max 8s from its order following the airline’s sale to Bain Capital.

Boeing 737 Max aircraft sit parked at the company's production facility in Renton, Washington. Picture: AFP

Prior to the grounding, Singapore Airlines’ SilkAir and Fiji Airways both flew the aircraft on Australian routes and have stored the aeroplanes at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage site at Alice Springs.

Of the eight 737 Max mothballed at the site, seven remain with one to return home to Singapore on Friday afternoon.

APAS managing director Tom Vincent said he expected the rest to follow in coming weeks following an exhaustive reactivation process.

CASA acting CEO and director of aviation safety Graeme Crawford said the initial suspension of the Boeing 737 Max had been in the best interests of safety.

“CASA was one of the first civil aviation regulators in the world to suspend Boeing 737 Max operations,” Mr Crawford said.

“We took early action based on the information we had to ensure our skies remained safe while the cause of the accidents was investigated.”

He said CASA had accepted the “comprehensive return-to-service requirements specified by the FAA” and was confident the aircraft was safe.

“Our airworthiness and engineering team has assessed there are no additional return to service requirements for operation in Australia,” said Mr Crawford.

“With COVID-19 continuing to disrupt international air travel, there is currently no indication when Singapore airlines and Fiji Airways will resume their operations to Australia.”