After a nearly two-year flight ban, Transport Canada has taken the first step toward clearing the Boeing 737 Max to fly again by approving design changes to the aircraft in the wake of two deadly crashes.
In a letter obtained by CBC News, Transport Canada said it informed its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday that it has validated a number of changes to the aircraft with "some unique Canadian differences."
Transport Canada confirmed this morning that the now validated changes include additional training that gives pilots the option to disable a "stick shaker" — which is "a loud and intrusive warning system when the system has been erroneously activated by a failure in the angle of attack sensor system," according to a press release.
"This feature will help to reduce pilot workload given what has been learned from the two tragic accidents, and has been fully evaluated by Transport Canada's flight test pilots," wrote Transport Canada. "There will also be differences in training, including training on the enhanced flight deck procedure."
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said today the plane has been "looked at very carefully because we want to make sure that we absolutely fix it."
"We feel very confident because safety is critical for passengers, for the government of Canada, and we feel very confident that we have done our homework properly," he said.
In October 2018, a 737 Max owned by Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 passengers. In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight plunged from the air southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, minutes after takeoff, killing everyone onboard — including 18 Canadians and a family of permanent residents to Canada. Countries around the world grounded the aircraft after the second crash. Canada was criticized for being one of the last countries to do so.
Ethiopia's investigation report pointed the finger at Boeing, saying flaws in the aircraft's design caused the crash. Inaccurate sensor readings activated the MCAS anti-stall system, which pointed the plane's nose down as pilots struggled to right it, the report said.
There are a number of steps that still need to be taken before Transport Canada allows Canada's 737 Max fleet to carry passengers again, including issuing a directive that outlines the design changes and mandating additional training in a simulator for air crews. These steps and others are expected to happen in January 2021, the department wrote.
Problems with anti-stall system
Transport Canada has been working with other regulators around the world, but said it conducted its own independent review of the changes to the aircraft to determine if it's safe to fly again. The U.S. already has cleared the plane to fly again and Boeing conducted its first new flight with media representatives on board on Dec. 2.
This past summer, the department's pilots did a series of flight tests on the updated version of the Boeing 737 Max and tested out the change in procedures that it deemed necessary, Transport Canada's director general of civil aviation Nicholas Robinson told MPs last month.
Chris Moore, who lost his 24-year-old daughter Danielle in the crash, said it's hard to learn that "a plane that was instrumental" in his daughter's death could fly again in Canada soon. Danielle was on her way to a UN Environmental Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya when she died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Moore said he feels there are outstanding safety issues with the Max and unanswered questions. He also said the government hasn't adequately explained to families why the plane wasn't grounded after the first crash — a precaution that could have prevented his daughter's death.
"There's a bit of hollowness in my gut and pain in my heart," he said. "It's very difficult. Every day, there's always something that comes up that gives another jab to my heart. To think about what I'll be missing in the future. Going on trips with her, not being a grandfather, that's been taken away from me. It is very hard."
Some families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash have been calling on Canada to launch an independent inquiry before clearing the plane as safe to fly again. Family members said they were devastated when the Liberals and Conservatives blocked the NDP's motion to hold a public inquiry last month during a House of Commons transport committee hearing on Canada's certification process for the Max.
The committee found that Transport Canada had questions about the 737 Max as early as 2016, but Canada didn't get answers from Boeing, the manufacturer or the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration before it approved the plane as safe to fly, according to government documents.
The documents show Transport Canada's test pilots asked for more information about the plane's automated anti-stall system, but did not get a response before the aircraft was cleared to fly.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiQGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNiYy5jYS9uZXdzL3BvbGl0aWNzL2NhbmFkYS1ib2VpbmctNzM3LW1heC0xLjU4NDUwOTbSASBodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYmMuY2EvYW1wLzEuNTg0NTA5Ng?oc=5
2020-12-17 18:41:00Z
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