Industry officials cite potential landing safety risk
A cockpit software glitch will hold up air-safety regulators’ approval of Boeing’s newest 737 MAX model, the Wall Street Journal reported in its Monday “What’s News” newsletter. The issue emerged from a recent update to the aircraft’s cockpit software and could, in a certain scenario, force pilots to operate the aircraft manually without some autopilot functions during landing.
Some industry officials told the Journal they worry the issue could pose a potential safety risk during landing. Air-safety regulators will assess the issue before signing off on the latest 737 MAX variant, the newsletter reported.
Boeing said it is working with airlines on a procedure that would allow pilots to re-enable the automated navigation feature if needed. The company is also developing a software fix to address the underlying glitch, according to the newsletter.
The newsletter did not specify a timeline for either the regulatory review or Boeing’s software fix.