EU begins Boeing 737 Max certification flights

The EU’s aviation regulator began certification flights of Boeing’s 737 Max airliner this week, taking the grounded airliner another critical step closer to possibly carrying passengers again. The flights will be conducted in Vancouver, British Columbia, while simulator training for Max pilots will take place at London’s Gatwick airport. 

In a statement, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it’s working closely with Boeing during the process. “EASA judges the overall maturity of the redesign process is now sufficient to proceed to flight tests. These are a prerequisite for the European agency to approve the aircraft’s new design.”

The EASA tests come two months after the FAA completed its own certification flights out of Seattle. The agency has since released a list of changes it says Boeing must make to the Max before it can return to service. Both the EASA and Transport Canada have said their certification of the aircraft will be independent of any FAA approval. 

The Max has been grounded since March 2019 after crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed 346 people. Boeing says it has now repaired the MCAS flight control system blamed for both crashes and has predicted the Max could fly again by the end of the year.