Story ID: GPtcmax12172020
Transport Canada Validates 737 Max Changes
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: Following Thursday’s validation of design changes to the Max, Canadian authorities expect to issue an airworthiness directive in January. 
Word Count: 402
Transport Canada has validated design changes to the Boeing 737 Max certified by U.S. authorities, allowing the modifications’ incorporation on Canadian registered aircraft, the Canadian civil aviation agency said Thursday. The department added that it expects to issue an airworthiness directive (AD) that stipulates the required design changes next month and mandate training requirements for pilots through an Interim Order. Transport Canada called the validation “an important first step” toward returning the Max to service in the country, but that the department must put into place comprehensive safety plans that require additional design changes, maintenance, and training.

Specifically, the Canadian design changes will include an enhanced flight deck procedure that provides the option for a pilot-in-command to disable “a loud and intrusive warning system”—commonly called the stick shaker—when a failure in the angle of attack sensor activates the system. Transport Canada said its test pilots have fully evaluated the feature, which, it added, will help to reduce pilot workload. The agency will also include differences training on the enhanced flight deck procedure.

“Transport Canada will work with Canadian airline operators, crews, and union associations over the coming weeks to determine how these requirements will be implemented in Canada,” the agency said in a statement.

The Canadian validation comes a month after the FAA cleared the Max to return to service in the U.S. Along with addressing new training requirements and software improvement, that AD requires completing wire separation modifications and accomplishing what Boeing called de-preservation activities to ensure the airplanes’ readiness for service.

European authorities expect to finalize a November 24 proposed AD issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in mid-January. As in the case of the expected Transport Canada AD, a key difference between the FAA order and the EASA directive lies in a European provision for the flight crews to stop a stick shaker from continuing to vibrate in the event of an erroneous activation.

Clearance from Brazilian authorities on November 26 essentially mimics the U.S. directive. Brazil’s Gol resumed Max operations on December 9, making it the first airline in the world to return the then-grounded airliner to scheduled service. American Airlines plans to become the first U.S. carrier to return the airplane to service, according to schedules calling for a December 29 flight from Miami to LaGuardia Airport in New York.