Boeing is navigating a complex landscape of safety concerns and regulatory scrutiny as it resumes deliveries of its troubled 737 Max jet to China. Recently, Boeing Global president Brendan Nelson visited Beijing to meet with Chinese aviation regulators, focusing on the safety of the 737 Max. This comes after China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) lifted its ban on the aircraft, which had been grounded since March 2019. However, the CAAC has stressed the importance of compliance management and ensuring that aircraft are in good technical condition. In May, deliveries were paused due to concerns over batteries used in cockpit voice recorders, prompting Boeing to enhance its quality checks during manufacturing and revise its quality management system guidelines.
Adding to Boeing's challenges, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued urgent safety recommendations on September 26, 2024, regarding rudder systems on certain Boeing 737 aircraft. This recommendation followed a February incident involving a United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 at Newark airport, where the rudder pedals were stuck in the neutral position. Fortunately, no injuries occurred among the 155 passengers and six crew members. The NTSB identified a faulty rollout guidance actuator manufactured by Collins Aerospace as the cause, affecting over 353 actuators delivered to Boeing since February 2017. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) plans to convene a corrective action review board based on these findings.
Boeing's reputation has been further tarnished by multiple safety incidents, including a door plug failure in January 2024 and the crashes of two 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in 346 fatalities. As the company works to rebuild trust in China—a key market for its aircraft—it faces increasing competition from domestically produced narrowbody C919 aircraft, which have been conducting commercial flights for over a year. [630c0055][eca48251]