FAA says wiring bundles on Boeing’s 737 Max are not compliant with the safety standards

The Boeing Company had recently proposed to keep the wiring bundles intact on its grounded 737 Max jetliner. In an announcement on Friday, the United States aviation regulators, however, formally rejected the proposal citing the high risk of short circuit that could lead to disastrous outcomes.

According to the sources, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared its stance on Friday that the wiring bundles on Boeing’s 737 Max are not compliant with the safety standards. Boeing’s response that highlights its strategy moving forward, however, is yet to be revealed.

FAA Is Unlikely To Reconsider Its Decision Regarding The Wiring Bundles

The wiring issue was only recently discovered in the Boeing’s 737 Max and the FAA is acting firmly to ensure that all certification standards are complied with before the jetliner is approved for commercial flights again.

In its statement on Sunday, Boeing said that it is continuously holding discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration. The options currently at its disposal include moving the wiring bundles, crafting a new proposal, or requesting reconsideration to the FAA over its decision. The FAA, as per the U.S official, however, is unlikely to agree to the reconsideration.

In January, FAA and Boeing had announced that the wiring bundles are currently under review. The announcement also declared a high risk of dire circumstances including a crash in an event of a short circuit that the pilots failed to respond to in an immediate and effective fashion.

Boeing’s world-renowned, fuel-efficient, 737 Max jetliner is grounded since March 2019 following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in total within a short period of five months.

Boeing Says 737 NG Also Uses The Same Wiring Mechanism With No Issue

The wiring bundles are located too close to fuel risk of a short circuit in over dozen areas of the Boeing’s 737 Max with the majority of such instances confined to the electrical bay under the cockpit.

Boeing’s argument with the FAA included reiterating that the 737 NG also uses the same wiring mechanism. The aforementioned jetliner has 205 million flight hours logged since 1997 without a single report of wiring issues. The new safety rules that apply to the jetliner’s wiring, however, were introduced in 1998 after the fatal crash of Swiss Air 111.

According to Boeing’s official, however, the company is working committedly on a new design that modifies the wiring bundles to reduce the risk of a short circuit as per the FAA’s demand, if necessary.