Aviation Club homes in on MAXI

London’s Royal Automobile Club, the new home of the Aviation Club of the United Kingdom, welcomed Steve Dickson, administrator of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last Thursday (6 February).  He said international air safety regulators were likely to agree shortly on the design fixes needed to return the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to service.

Dickson, who has the American responsibility for approving a return to service by the grounded aircraft, would not put a timeframe on its return but noted it would become easier to predict after its certification flight, which he said could come in the next few weeks.

“On the design approval, from everything that I have seen I think we’ll have very solid alignment,” he told members and guests.

Boeing has said its best estimate is that the aircraft will not be back in the air until mid-2020, after endorsing simulator training for pilots before flights resume, and that regulators will determine the timing.

He cautioned against putting a definitive timeline on the return of the MAX.

“There is no timeframe, I don’t think it’s helpful to get out there with timeframes or timelines,” he told reporters at a briefing.

“For Boeing’s part, what I have been encouraging is to not make public announcements.”

www.faa.gov

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