Boeing Puts 737 Max Jet Back Into Air For Demonstration Flight
For the first time since March of 2019, passengers flew on a 737-Max jet.
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For the first time since March of 2019, passengers flew on a 737-Max jet.
Chicago-based Boeing's 737 Max airplane is returning to the skies. But for those who lost loved ones in the crashes, the move is premature.
The process of approving the plane to carry passengers has stretched on far longer than originally expected and cost Boeing more than $20 billion.
The aircraft maker had already announced was reducing staff by 16,000 jobs earlier this year, through a combination of voluntary and involuntary layoffs.
American Airlines said, upon receiving FAA recertification, it will begin phasing the 737 Max back into service with once-a-day flights between New York and Miami from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.
FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson, a pilot who flew for the military and Delta Air Lines, was expected to sit in the captain's seat during a two-hour flight. An FAA spokesman said Boeing pilots would also be on the plane when it takes off from the former Boeing Field in the Seattle area.
Boeing has found a problem with the manufacturing of the 787 Dreamliner, the widebody jet that is one of the most successful products of the troubled aircraft maker.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated air travel, leaving airlines with more planes than they need.
More trouble is in the air for Boeing. The FAA wants the plane maker to pay a fine of more than $1 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed software changes to a flight-control system implicated in two deadly 737 Max crashes. It also plans to require a warning light to pilots that wasn't working on the planes that crashed, changes to on-board computers, and the rerouting of some wiring.
Boeing said COVID-19 hurt demand for new planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that "in the near future" it will issue a proposed safety directive for the plane. The agency gave no indication, however, of when it might lift its March 2019 order that grounded the plane.
American has orders for 76 Max jets, but wants Boeing to help arrange financing for 17 planes for which previous financing has or will soon expire.
Boeing shielded from federal regulators reviewing its 737 Max aircraft the extent and capability of the flawed computer system that ultimately brought down two jets, according to an inspector general report obtained by CNN.
Boeing has received clearance to begin test flights of its troubled 737 Max jet, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday. The test flights of could begin as early as Monday.
The problem is not related to the flight-control system that pushed planes into nosedives before two deadly Max crashes. The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people.
The company temporarily stopped building the plane in January, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit most of the world's airlines.
A Boeing spokesperson said the actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months.
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused global air traffic to plummet and compounded a crisis at Boeing Co. that began with two fatal crashes and the grounding of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max.
"The demand for commercial airline travel has fallen off a cliff," said Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun. "The pandemic is also delivering a body blow to our business."
Boeing's CEO said Monday that it will take years for the aircraft-building business to return to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic, which has slowed air travel to a trickle and led airlines to park 2,800 jets.
Thousands of Boeing workers are back on the job in Washington state with new procedures to keep them safe from COVID-19.
The company said 27,000 workers are due to return in a phased-in process, with some starting as early as Monday. Most should be back at work by Friday, April 24. Boeing said it will take steps needed to protect their safety.
In a memo to employees, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the company is offering voluntary layoff packages that will provide exiting employees with pay and benefits.
The aerospace giant is among the companies that would qualify for the government-backed loans reserved "for businesses critical to maintaining national security," and the only one that has made it clear that it needs the assistance.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released his 2027 budget forecast on Thursday.
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Prime Healthcare is drawing criticism after announcing it will stop obstetrics services at three Chicago-area hospitals.
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The Jackson Chance Foundation supports the lives of families with babies in the NICU by removing the financial burden of finding parking near hospitals.
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Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, used performed a complex operation to preserve mobility for a 3-year-old boy who had to have part of his leg amputated after suffering a horrific accident with a lawnmower.
A new Whole Foods Market is coming to Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.
More than 100 Black-owned businesses were showcased at Soldier Field Sunday for Black on the Block.
A Wisconsin prosecutor says he will not file election bribery charges against billionaire Elon Musk even though the state's bipartisan elections commission said he likely broke state law.
An expert blames Illinois lawmakers and "internecine political problems" for the failure to seal a deal for a new stadium within the state for the Chicago Bears.
Real estate investment and development firm Concord Capital has acquired nine apartment buildings on Elaine Place, a single-block residential street in Chicago's East Lakeview community.
James Fulton Engstrom, now a healthy teenager, was born without a pulse in 2010 — and his survival is the miracle the Catholic Church credited to Fulton Sheen's intercession, clearing the way for beatification.
The Met's decision to highlight the work by designer John Galliano sparked widespread controversy due to his history of antisemitic and racist comments.
The Edgewater Music Festival was under way this weekend on Chicago's north lakefront.
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Tim Curry was known for his iconic performances in cult classics like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and the original screen adaptation of Stephen King's "It."
The projections estimate that the city’s budget deficit has been reduced to $882.4 million, down from an estimated $1.2 billion shortfall the year before.
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An earlier plan called for the Lucas Museum to be built in Chicago, but the plan ended up being called off.
A woman is dead, and a man was injured after a shooting in Lockport Township, Illinois, on Wednesday night.
Nurses at two Chicago-area hospitals run by Prime Healthcare are going on strike on Thursday.
The passings come a week after Peekachu, a 23-year-old beluga who was also brought to Chicago as part of the rescue, died.
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Two years before dozens of decomposing bodies were found inside the South Chicago Chapel funeral home, police in nearby Evergreen Park found two bodies in the owners' minivan outside their home.
Hundreds of people are suing the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, where they say they were sexually abused by staff. For the first time, survivors detailed their experience exclusively to CBS News Chicago.
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The White Sox had several chances to score in the eighth, but came up empty.
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Sean Burke (8-6) allowed one hit and walked four with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the win after walking a career-high eight in just three innings in his last start.
A day after hitting a franchise-record nine homers, Chicago was held to three singles and three doubles on a muggy night at Wrigley Field.
Two people are dead and at least five others are injured, including three officers, after a shooting near 15 East Grant Street Wednesday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis, according to police. The suspected shooter is also dead.
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