Boeing Lands 1st 737 Max Order Since Troubled Plane Was Cleared To Fly Again

НОВОРОССИЯ.RU
03 Дек 2020, 22:00

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European airline Ryanair is ordering 75 Boeing 737 Max airplanes, the two companies announced Thursday.

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«I can’t tell you how confident we are in the safety of this aircraft,» Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said at a signing ceremony in Washington. «This is the most scrutinized, most audited aircraft in history.»

In a statement O’Leary said that he expected the rapid return of flights, likely in 2021, after COVID-19 vaccines roll out and the pandemic recedes.

The FAA and other aviation authorities around the world ordered the 737 Max grounded in March 2019, after one of the planes operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed, killing all 157 people on board. That catastrophe came less than five months after a 737 Max operated by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people.

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The House Transportation Committee investigated the development and certification of the 737 Max. In September, the panel issued a report in which it said it found «a disturbing pattern of technical miscalculations and troubling management misjudgments» by Boeing, combined with «numerous oversight lapses and accountability gaps by the FAA.»

The 737 Max — considered key to its competition with top rival Airbus — was the fastest-selling plane in Boeing’s history, with more than 5,000 orders received as of early 2019. But for all of last year orders dropped to less than 50 of the planes following the grounding.

The human and business catastrophes led Boeing’s board to fire President and CEO Dennis Muilenberg late last year.

This August, Boeing received an order for two 737 Max planes from Poland’s Enter Air, with an option to buy two more. Ryanair had previously ordered 135 of the planes.

Boeing’s stock climbed more than 7% after Thursday’s announcement, though it’s still down more than 25% this year.