Transport Canada validates design changes to Boeing 737 Max aircraft

The Canadian Government has taken the first step to returning the grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft back to service.

Transport Canada has validated design changes to the aircraft following the completion of an independent review conducted by its aviation safety experts.

This will allow the modifications to be incorporated on Canadian-registered aircraft. It comes after the aircraft received certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The validation process, which ensured all factors were addressed before the aircraft flies in Canadian airspace, has seen Transport Canada work with the FAA and other major certifying authorities.

They include the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), three Canadian Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operators, and pilot unions.

Design changes for Canadian-registered aircraft include an updated flight deck procedure, which enables pilot-in-command to disable a loud and intrusive warning system.

In the coming weeks, Transport Canada will explore ways to implements these requirements by collaborating with Canadian airline operators, crews and union associations.

It will also work on comprehensive safety plans prior to the aircraft’s return to service in Canadian airspace.

Until then, commercial flight restrictions on the aircraft will continue to remain in effect.

Since March 2019, Boeing 737 MAX has been temporarily grounded following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that claimed 346 lives.

Last month, UAE civil aviation regulator General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) revealed its plan to bring the grounded Boeing 737 MAX back to service.