Boeing 737 Max airplane crashes: all of the news, updates, and analyses – The Verge

Boeing accepts guilty plea deal over 737 Max crashes

2024-07-08T05:02:04-04:00

Boeing’s plea deal must receive the approval of a federal judge to take effect. | Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to a pair of crashes of its 737 Max planes, as part of a plea deal with the US Department of Justice. Lawyers for the victims' families plan to object to the deal, which was forged on Sunday just before a midnight deadline and must still be approved by a federal judge.

The two crashes, which happened in 2018 and 2019, killed more than 300 people. The planes malfunctioned because of software that was intended to correct for a design flaw - and that software, called MCAS, relied on just a single external sensor for its data. However, when Boeing launched the 737 Max, it didn …

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Airlines ground some 737 Max airplanes after Boeing discovers new problem

2021-04-09T11:19:56-04:00

Boeing has recommended that airlines temporarily take the 737 Max out of service because of an issue with the plane's electrical systems. It's the latest in a now very long line of problems that have cropped up with this particular plane since two of them crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. But it's the first to ground the plane since the Federal Aviation Administration approved its return and it went back into service late last year.

The new problem has to do with whether there is "a sufficient ground path" for a particular component of the plane's electrical power system, according to Boeing. Southwest Airlines, which is the mos …

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Boeing criminally charged for lying about 737 Max crashes, fined $2.5 billion

2021-01-07T16:27:23-05:00

Boeing has been criminally charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by the Department of Justice and will have to pay a $2.5 billion fine for lying to the Federal Aviation Administration before and after the fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The Justice Department announced the charges and fine, which were part of a deferred prosecution agreement, on Thursday. The $2.5 billion fine includes a $243.6 million "criminal monetary penalty," $1.77 billion that will be paid out to airlines that were customers of the plane, and $500 million that will go to a fund to help families and relatives of the people who died in the two cra …

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FAA and Boeing manipulated 737 Max tests during recertification

2020-12-18T17:51:00-05:00

Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked together to manipulate 737 Max recertification tests following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, according to a damning new Senate report. Boeing "inappropriately coached" some FAA test pilots to reach a desired outcome during the recertification tests, and some were even performed on simulators that weren't equipped to re-create the same conditions as the crashes.

In doing this, the Senate report's authors say the "FAA and Boeing were attempting to cover up important information that may have contributed to the 737 MAX tragedies."

The FAA is also accused of retaliating against w …

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Boeing’s 737 Max is back in service

2020-12-09T16:40:28-05:00

Boeing's troubled 737 Max made its first commercial flight since March 2019 today, marking the end of a 20-month grounding following two deadly crashes that killed 346 people. Brazil's Gol Airlines was the first in the world to put paying customers on the plane again since the Federal Aviation Administration approved its return to flight in November. A 737 Max 8 ferried passengers from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre, according to The Associated Press.

Gol Airlines told the publication it plans to use the 737 Max in regular service starting later this month, and passengers who don't want to fly on the plane will be able to exchange their tickets.

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FAA shares new steps for Boeing to return 737 Max to the skies

2020-08-03T18:39:53-04:00

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released a "preliminary summary" of its 18-month review of the Boeing 737 Max program, and with it, has detailed the remaining steps the company will likely need to take in order to allow the plane back into the air. Among the changes the agency is asking for is new software for the plane's flight control computer and displays, a revised manual and enhanced training for flight crew, and new maintenance procedures. A few key issues remain unfinished, though, like finalizing a new pilot training process.

The FAA laid out the changes both in the 96-page summary and in a Notice of Proposed Rulemakin …

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Boeing and FAA start first test flights of 737 Max since deadly crashes

2020-06-29T17:14:33-04:00

Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began a series of test flights on Monday to determine whether the 737 Max should be allowed back in the air, after it was involved in two deadly crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The tests are expected to last around three days.

"While the certification flights are an important milestone, a number of key tasks remain," the FAA said in a statement. "The FAA is following a deliberate process and will take the time it needs to thoroughly review Boeing's work. We will lift the grounding order only after we are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards."

Part of …

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Boeing resumes production of its troubled 737 Max airplane

2020-05-27T17:49:34-04:00

Boeing said it would resume manufacturing the troubled 737 Max airplane after a nearly five-month hiatus. The aerospace company said it would restart production "at a low rate as it implements more than a dozen initiatives focused on enhancing workplace safety and product quality."

The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded since March 2019 following two fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 passengers and crew members. Boeing continued to manufacture the airplane, but in December 2019, the company announced plans to halt production at its Renton, Washington manufacturing plant.

The FAA has yet to clear the airplane to return to passenger ser …

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Boeing finds another software problem on the 737 Max

2020-02-06T12:42:10-05:00

Boeing has discovered another software problem on the beleaguered 737 Max that will have to be fixed before the airplane returns to the skies, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. It's at least the third different software problem that has been discovered since the plane was grounded in March of last year following a pair of fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 346 people.

The new issue apparently has to do with a warning light that helps tell pilots when the trim system - a part of the plane that can lift or lower the nose - isn't working. Federal Aviation Administration head Steve Dickson said during a talk in London on Thursday that the li …

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Boeing now says the 737 Max won’t fly again until at least mid-2020

2020-01-21T15:35:21-05:00

Boeing on Tuesday announced that it's now estimating its troubled 737 Max aircraft won't fly again until at least mid-2020, a delay from the earlier January 2020 time frame. The newly announced delay means that the 737 Max will have been grounded for at least a year, regardless of when it returns to flight.

The news was issued as a press release on Boeing's website, and the company says it will be informing customers and suppliers of the revised timeline. The new window is in line with a previously revised estimate from the US airlines that fly the 737 Max, each of which had pushed back commercial flights using the plane until at least June …

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