Southwest pilots’ union seeks simplified 737 MAX runaway stabiliser procedure

US low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines pilots’ union has reportedly sought for a simplified revised runaway stabiliser procedure for Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

The changes have been submitted to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which issued the draft Flight Standardization Board (FSB) report on revised training procedures for the aircraft on 6 October.

The draft was kept open for public feedback through 2 November.

The proposed revisions include the addition of training requirements for Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), Autopilot Flight Director System (AFDS) enhancements, and additional Special Emphasis Training.

As part of the changes proposed by the FAA, pilots are required to undergo training on multiple flight deck alerts during non-normal conditions and runaway stabiliser recognition and timely pilot actions.

Runaway stabiliser training must also be achieved at least once every 36 months during recurrent training.

Boeing temporarily grounded 737 MAX since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.

Additionally, the families of some victims of the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash have called the training changes as ‘inadequate’.

The family groups were quoted by Bloomberg as saying: “The FAA’s proposed update to the 737 Max pilot training requirements is inadequate to rectify Boeing’s history of 737 Max-related failures and insufficient to prepare pilots to safely fly the airplane.”

Last month, US carrier American Airlines reportedly planned to bring the Boeing 737 MAX back to service for passengers by the end of this year.