Boeing submits to FAA’s recommendation of separating wiring bundles before 737 Max returns for service

According
to the sources, the Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) has decided in favor of
separating the wiring bundles on its 737 Max in its recent attempt to gain FAA’s
(Federal Aviation Administration) approval for the jetliner to return for
commercial flights.

Boeing
had previously argued that the similar wiring bundles are being used on its 737
NG since 1997 with no reports of wiring issues. The
FAA, however, had rejected Boeing’s argument claiming that the wiring
bundles are located too close to each other and that a minor short circuit can
result in dire consequences like fatal crashes.

Boeing
Still Expects The 737 Max To Return For Service In Mid-2020

According
to the experts, the process is likely to take time for Boeing and is expected
to fuel further delays before the FAA clears its fuel-efficient jetliner for service.
Boeing, on the contrary, foresees the fix to take around one week for each
aircraft. Considering that the largest American airplane manufacturer is
planning on applying a few components of the fix as the aircraft are removed
from storage, Boeing still forecasts mid-2020 for the return of its 737 Max
jetliner for commercial flights.

Neither
the FAA nor Boeing representatives opted to comment on the recent news at this
stage.

It
has been a year for Boeing’s 737 Max to have remained grounded after two fatal
crashes within a short period of five months that killed 346 people in total. In
12-months time, Boeing
lost billions in terms of market value and has been confronted with
hundreds of lawsuits filed by the bereaved families. It also gave up its title of
the world’s largest airplane manufacturer to Airbus in the last quarter of
2019.

MCAS
Stall-Prevention Software Was Originally Blamed For The Fatal Crashes

Boeing
worked committedly during this time to update MCAS (stall-prevention software)
that was associated with the fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Owing to
the intense scrutiny, however, multiple other safety concerns including the
aforementioned wiring issue were raised and resulted in further delays in the
regulator’s approval for 737 Max for service.

The
sources also informed that the 737 Max has over a dozen locations where the
wiring bundles will need to be modified with the majority of such locations
confined to the electrical bay under the cockpit.

At
the time of writing, the Boeing Company is exchanging hands at $189.0 per share
in the stock market that translates to around 45% decline in 2020 so far. Boeing
currently has a market cap of $106.48 billion.