Boeing 737 Max's Autopilot Has Problem, European Regulators Find

By Benjamin D Katz and Alan Levin
July 5, 2019, 12:51 PM EDT Updated on July 5, 2019, 3:07 PM EDT

▶ System on jet was failing to disengage in certain emergencies
▶ Unclear impact on the cost, time for getting model back in air

Europe’s aviation regulator has outlined five major requirements it wants Boeing Co. to address before it will allow the planemaker’s 737 Max to return to service, according to a person familiar with the matter. One of them, about the jet’s autopilot function, hasn’t surfaced previously as an area of concern.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has sent its list to both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t yet public. The FAA hasn’t publicly discussed details about what changes it’s demanding on the Max, so it’s difficult to know whether the EASA demands differ dramatically -- and whether they would significantly boost the cost and time to get the Max back in the air.

Regulators worldwide grounded Boeing’s best-selling plane in March following two crashes in five months that killed a total of 346 people.

-snip-

Autopilot Concerns

EASA’s checklist includes a number of issues that have been disclosed: the potential difficulty pilots have in turning the jet’s manual trim wheel, the unreliability of the Max’s angle of attack sensors, inadequate training procedures, and a software issue flagged just last week by the FAA pertaining to a lagging microprocessor. But the agency also listed a previously unreported concern: the autopilot failing to disengage in certain emergencies.

-snip-