Boeing likely to shut down 737 MAX jets production amid grounding crisis: report
Xinhua
1576494588000

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) - US airplane giant Boeing Company is considering cutting or halting production of 737 MAX jets after US regulators ruled out any clearance for the troubled planes for flight until 2020, local media reported Sunday.

timg.jpg

(File photo)

The Boeing Board of Directors is likely to decide on the production status of the 737 Max jets at the final assembly facility in Renton city, Washington State, the Seattle Times daily said.

Boeing will probably halt 737 MAX production in one or two weeks as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said last week it would not approve resumed flights of the 737 MAX airplanes until next year.

FAA chief Steve Dickson disclosed that there is no clear timeline for when the 737 Max will be re-certified and that there are 10 to 11 milestones left to complete before it can be approved.

Dickson's comments squashed Boeing's hope of getting the planes cleared for resumed service before the end of this year.

More than 800 jets have been grounded worldwide since mid-March 2019 after investigators found flawed flight control software on the 737 MAX partially responsible for the crashes of two MAX jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The two separate fatal incidents killed a total of 346 people aboard the ill-fated jets in October 2018 and March 2019.