Return Of The Max: Boeing 737 Takes Off On First Commercial Flight in 20 Months



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A Gol Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane on approach to land at Guarulhos International Airport, Brazil, on Wednesday. Brazil’s Gol Airlines became the first in the world to return the planes to its active fleet.

Andre Penner/AP




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Andre Penner/AP

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Gol Airlines of Brazil unveiled its first 737 Max 8 aircraft in August 2018, in São Paulo. Wednesday, the airline became the first to return a 737 Max to passenger service when it operated a flight from São Paulo to Porto Alegre, Brazil.

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Gol Airlines of Brazil unveiled its first 737 Max 8 aircraft in August 2018, in São Paulo. Wednesday, the airline became the first to return a 737 Max to passenger service when it operated a flight from São Paulo to Porto Alegre, Brazil.

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«Customers will be able to exchange their tickets if they don’t want to fly on a 737 Max,» The Associated Press reports, citing a Gol spokesperson.

Gol organized a celebratory demonstration flight late last week, in which a collection of the airline’s employees, executives and their family members flew aboard the aircraft.

Wednesday’s commercial flight comes two weeks after Brazil’s aviation agency, the ANAC, joined the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in revoking an order that grounded the Boeing 737 Max.

The 737 Max came under intense scrutiny after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia were traced to «faulty sensors and a flawed flight control system that repeatedly forced the planes into nosedives that the pilots were unable to control,» as NPR’s David Schaper has reported.

The FAA ordered airlines to carry out several improvements before the plane could again carry passengers, including software changes and enhanced crew training. And after a long furlough, the planes had to be thoroughly checked out to be sure they were ready.



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