Boeing likely to shut down 737 MAX jets production amid grounding crisis: Report

The Board of Directors of the company is likely to decide on the production status of the 737 Max jets at the final assembly facility in Renton city in D.C.
A Boeing 737 MAX takes off during a flight test  (File | Reuters)
A Boeing 737 MAX takes off during a flight test (File | Reuters)

WASHINGTON: American aerospace giant Boeing is considering cutting or halting production of 737 MAX jets after US regulators ruled out any clearance for the troubled planes for flight until 2020, the local media reported on Sunday.

The Board of Directors of the company is likely to decide on the production status of the 737 Max jets at the final assembly facility in Renton city in D.C., according to the Seattle Times.

Boeing will probably halt 737 MAX production in one or two weeks as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week announced that it would not approve the 737 MAX airplanes resuming air services until next year, Xinhua news agency reported.

FAA chief Steve Dickson disclosed that there is no clear timeline for when the 737 Max will be re-certified. Dickson's comments squashed Boeing's hope of getting the planes cleared for resuming service before the end of this year.

More than 800 jets have been grounded worldwide since mid-March 2019 after investigators found flawed flight control software on the 737 MAX partially responsible for the crashes of two MAX jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The two separate fatal incidents killed a total of 346 people aboard the ill-fated jets in October 2018 and March 2019. 

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