Boeing stated that last month, a software fault was discovered on some 737 Max aircraft, which could potentially affect certain landing procedures. The manufacturer is now seeking approval from federal regulatory agencies for its fourth and final model in this popular family of aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States stated on Saturday that it is assessing this issue and said, "If any safety hazards are identified, action will be taken immediately." At the same time, they will review the repair proposals put forward by Boeing.
Boeing stated that this issue may arise after resuming flight operations: when pilots change the pre-programmed flight path, additional steps must be taken when using automated tools during subsequent approaches.
Boeing stated, "We have shared information with the operators and reiterated the existing pilot procedures for safe handling in such situations. Our engineers are developing a software update to permanently resolve this issue." The Wall Street Journal previously reported on this issue.
The company stated that the pilots were trained to land without relying on automatic systems. Boeing said, "We are working directly with airlines to formally establish a procedure that will enable pilots to re-enable automatic vertical navigation in such situations."
American airlines have informed CNBC that there are no Max 8 or Max 9 aircraft in their fleet that are equipped with the updated software related to this issue. The airlines are able to revert some Max aircraft to the older version of the software.
Southwest Airlines, which operates all Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet, stated that the company "is aware of this matter and is in ongoing communication with Boeing and FAA."
The company added, "Our fleet is not equipped with the U.14 version, including the newly delivered Max 8 aircraft." United Airlines also stated that they have not received any Max aircraft equipped with the new software.
However, there are still doubts regarding the other two models, Max 7 and Max 10. At the beginning of August, when FAA issued certification for the smallest member of the Max family, Max 7, it installed the latest software. It is currently unclear whether these models can be delivered or flown with older versions of the software.
In addition, Boeing CEO Kelly Otterberg told investors earlier this month that he expects Max to obtain FAA certification soon.
This issue arose after Boeing's Max aircraft experienced years of delays, due to safety and manufacturing crises, including two fatal Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that resulted in 346 deaths. Both accidents were related to a defective flight control software system, which was later updated.
According to the data from Cirium, there are currently 2,430 Max aircraft in service around the world.
