The US Federal Aviation Administration will almost certainly not approve the Boeing 737 Max to fly again until 2020.
There are still several stages that need to be completed before the agency is ready to clear the aircraft, said FAA chief Steve Dickson.
However, there is still no fixed deadline.
"Each one of these processes is going to take some time. If you just do the math, it is going to extend into 2020," he said.
At this week’s hearing at the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Dickson laid out the steps which still need to be completed.
These include full pilot training evaluation, certification flights and a FAA and a Technical Advisory Board review of the design documents.
Only when all stages are signed off will it issue a continued airworthiness notification which may be subject to pending safety actions.
During the hours-long hearing, Dickson was bombarded with questions and criticism over the FAA’s handling of the initial certification of the Max and its response following the two deadly crashes.
Dickson acknowledged the Max should have been grounded after the first crash of a Lion Air jet in 2018.
The agency’s own analysis predicted there could be 15 further fatal accidents over the lifetime of the airplanes based on a global fleet of nearly 5,000 if no corrective action was taken.
Two whistleblowers also gave testimony calling out the cozy relationship between Boeing and the agency at the expense of ‘the safety of the traveling public.’
