Several  Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft sit at Windsor International Airport on March 18, 2019. Photo courtesy MP Brian Masse's constituency office.Several Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft sit at Windsor International Airport on March 18, 2019. Photo courtesy MP Brian Masse's constituency office.
Windsor

FAA approves Boeing 737 Max return to flight, but Canada holds back

The Boeing 737 Max may be allowed to return to service in the U.S., but in Canada, Transport Minister Marc Garneau is playing it more cautiously.

Almost two years after they were grounded, Federal Aviation Administration head Steve Dickson has signed an order paving the way for the return of Boeing 737 MAX planes to return to commercial flight in the U.S. The order was signed Wednesday morning and follows "a comprehensive and methodical safety review process."

The FAA said Dickson personally took the recommended pilot training and piloted the Boeing 737 MAX so he could base his decision on personal experience.

Before flights resume, the FAA is demanding design changes to the aircraft and the pilot training program. All grounded aircraft must undergo maintenance before flights resume.

"We cooperated closely with our foreign counterparts on every aspect of the return to service," read a statement from the FAA.

A separate statement from Transport Canada confirms Canadian officials were among those who worked with the FAA, but said, "the commercial flight restrictions for the operation of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Canadian airspace remain in effect."

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the restrictions won't be lifted "until the department is fully satisfied that all of its safety concerns have been addressed."

The statement also said there may be differences between what is required by the FAA and Transport Canada, including "on the flight deck and pre-flight, as well as differences in training."

Transport Canada expects its review to wrap up soon.

The MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft were grounded around the world after the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which killed 346 people, including 18 Canadians.

The crashes were blamed on software that pushed the nose of the aircraft down repeatedly. The pilots were unable to regain control.

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