Boeing has recommended that airlines temporarily shut down the 737 Max due to a problem with the aircraft’s electrical systems. This is the latest in a now very long series of problems that this particular aircraft has encountered since two of them crashed in 2018 and 2019 and 346 people died. But it is the first to land the plane since the Federal Aviation Administration approved its return and that it was back in use at the end of last year.
According to Boeing, the new problem has to do with the question of whether there is a sufficient dirt road for a specific part of the aircraft’s electrical power system. Southwest Airlines, which is the most dependent in the US on the 737 Max, has already grounded 30 of the planes, while American Airlines pulled 17 and United Airlines pulled 16, according to Reuters. This is all because air travel in the US is recovering to a large extent, thanks to a dramatic increase in coronavirus vaccinations.
This is a different matter than the one that led to the two fatal accidents, including Boeing installing a piece of safety software that the pilots or the government did not tell as part of a rush to bring the plane to market . But it is not the only one that has come to light since the accidents. Boeing has previously found debris in, for example, the fuel tanks of 737 Max aircraft.
The FAA – which was accused by a Senate inquiry in December of collaborating with Boeing to manipulate tests during the 737 Max’s reaffirmation process – has in a statement Friday that it “will ensure that the issue is addressed.”