EASA Unhappy with Boeing Responses

News Several sources have confirmed to us that a meeting between Boeing and the Joint International Technical Review Committee last week went so poorly that committee members asked Boeing to stop their presentation after only a half dozen or so slides. Yesterday, EASA issued a status report on the 737 as part of a presentation, which was posted on the European Parliament website. In that report, a slide on the status of the 737 MAX indicated “still no appropriate response to Angle of Attack integrity issues,” as shown in the slide below. IATA has also issued an appeal for cooperation and protection of the international regulatory system amidst rumors that agencies have a fundamental disagreement. Analysis From the status at EASA, it certainly doesn’t appear that the MAX will return to European skies soon, and if the FAA and international regulators keep their word about a united approach to return to service, not in the US, Canada, or Brazil either. We are projecting a return in late Q1 to mid Q2 in 2020 by the time airlines are ready to resume service with trained pilots. The nuclear card being held back by international agencies is the rudder cable issue, which we have previously discussed. Should Boeing continue to antagonize international regulators, that option becomes more and more viable, which could ground the aircraft for another 9-12 months. That is the last thing Boeing needs, and it seems quite strange that Boeing is refraining from presenting the technical details of product improvements to international regulators who determine a return to service. Bizarre is the only way to describe Boeing’s attitude, given the reactions from several parties at the meeting. Insight Boeing’s attitude appears to be that they are “too big to fail” and can dictate what is adequate to the FAA for a return to service. Unfortunately, that attitude doesn’t work with other sovereign nations. EASA’s assessment, with a big red checkmark, shows that the rest of the world won’t be such as easy a pushover as the FAA. Boeing is still publicly saying that the MAX will be cleared for a return to service by the end of the year, but that is looking more like smoke and mirrors rather than factual. A bit of transparency from Boeing, rather than posturing, would be appreciated. Dennis Mulienburg’s lack of leadership in this regard leads us to believe it is time for the Boeing board to remove him from his position.

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