WASHINGTON: A key step in the return to service of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX could take place as soon as early next week, two people briefed on the matter said on Friday.
Boeing Co’s best-selling plane has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. A certification flight test, which is expected to last at least two days, is likely to take place starting as early as Tuesday but has not been finalized. The Federal Aviation Administration would then need to approve new pilot training procedures and complete other steps and would not likely approve the plane’s ungrounding until September, the sources said.
A decision on the timing of the FAA’s certification test flight could come by the end of the day on Friday, the sources said.
Boeing shares were down 2.5% in afternoon trading.
