Why is S'pore allowing Boeing 737 MAX planes, involved in fatal crashes in 2018 & 2019?

Boeing 737 MAX operators must satisfy safety requirements before being allowed to fly again.

Sulaiman Daud | Fiona Tan | September 06, 2021, 04:51 PM

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The Civil Aviation Authority Singapore (CAAS) announced on Sep. 6 that it has lifted the restrictions on Boeing 737 MAX (737 MAX) planes flying in and out of Singapore.

The restrictions were imposed back in March 2019, following two fatal incidents involving 737 MAX planes.

Fatal incidents

In October 2018, a 737 MAX plane belonging to Indonesian airline Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta.

All 189 people on board were killed.

Less than five months later, another tragedy occurred.

This other plane, belonging to Ethiopia Airlines, crashed while in mid-flight. All 157 people on board were killed.

This plane also happened to be a 737 MAX plane.

After two such incidents occurring within months of each other, CAAS made a decision to place restrictions on 737 MAX planes.

All 737 MAX planes in Singapore were grounded, and all operations involving 737 MAX planes in and out of Singapore, regardless of their airline, were suspended.

Singapore was the first country to do so, and a string of other countries soon followed suit.

Technical assessment

So what's changed?

According to CAAS, it completed a technical assessment, which included an evaluation of the design changes to the aircraft made by Boeing, and approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other validating authorities.

CAAS also reviewed the operational data of flights of the aircraft that had resumed service over the past nine months and observed that there have been "no notable safety issues".

Singapore air operators intending to operate 737 MAX aircraft are required to comply with and implement all the required actions stated in FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020-24-02 and CAAS Directive 13/2021.

This includes:

  • Establishing a flight crew training programme approved by CAAS, that comprises ground and flight training elements specified in the FAA’s special training for 737 MAX flight crew.
  • Additional simulator training to ensure that pilots are adequately trained on workload management when handling aircraft emergencies.

In particular, Singapore Airlines must satisfy CAAS that it has complied with and implemented all the required actions stated in the directives before its 737 MAX planes can return to service.

Rules for foreign airlines

Foreign airlines intending to operate 737 MAX planes into Singapore must comply with CAAS’ requirements under paragraph 87A of the Air Navigation Order, as well as the FAA directive and other requirements of their respective civil aviation authorities.

To date, the regulators who have lifted restrictions on 737 MAX aircraft operations include the FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Transport Canada Civil Aviation, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.

Recently, Ethiopian Airlines settled with Boeing over the crash, and expects to fly the plane again in 2022, according to the Seattle Times.

Malaysia and India have also lifted the restrictions on the 737 MAX planes, according to Bloomberg.

Han Kok Juan, Director-General of CAAS, said that aviation safety is paramount and CAAS has taken extra care to assess, monitor and ensure that due diligence has been done and that the 737 MAX aircraft can operate safely, before lifting restrictions.

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Top image from Boeing's website.