The Boeing 737 MAX is a narrow-body aircraft series designed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, succeeding the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG). The new 737 series was launched on August 30, 2011. It performed its first flight on January 29, 2016. The new series gained FAA certification on March 8, 2017. The first delivery was a MAX 8 on May 6, 2017, to Malindo Air, which placed the aircraft into service on May 22, 2017. The 737 MAX is based on earlier 737 designs. It is re-engined with more efficient CFM International LEAP-1B engines, aerodynamic improvements (including distinctive split-tip winglets), and airframe modifications.
The 737 MAX series has been offered in four variants, typically offering 138 to 230 seats and a 3,215 to 3,825 nmi (5,954 to 7,084 km) range. The 737 MAX 7, MAX 8, and MAX 9 are intended to replace the 737-700, -800, and -900, respectively. Additional length is offered with the further stretched 737 MAX 10. As of January 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX has received 5,011 firm orders and delivered 350. Following two fatal crashes of MAX 8 aircraft in October 2018 and March 2019, regulatory authorities around the world grounded the aircraft series for an indefinite period, as of March 13, 2019. On March 19, 2019, the U.S. Department of Transportation requested an audit of the regulatory process that led to the aircraft's certification in 2017, amid concerns that current U.S. rules allow manufacturers to largely "self-certify" aircraft.
In 2006, Boeing started considering the replacement of the 737 with a "clean-sheet" design that could follow the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In June 2010, a decision on this replacement was postponed into 2011. On December 1, 2010, Boeing's competitor, Airbus, launched the Airbus A320neo family to improve fuel burn and operating efficiency with new engines: the CFM International LEAP and Pratt & Whitney PW1000G. In February 2011, Boeing's CEO Jim McNerney maintained "We're going to do a new airplane." At the March 2011 ISTAT conference, BCA President James Albaugh was not sure about a 737 re-engine, like Boeing CFO James A. Bell stated at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Defense conference the same month. The A320neo gathered 667 commitments at the June 2011 Paris Air Show for a backlog of 1,029 units since its launch, setting an order record for a new commercial airliner.
On July 20, 2011, American Airlines announced an order for 460 narrowbody jets including 130 A320ceos and 130 A320neos, and intended to order 100 re-engined 737s with CFM LEAPs, pending Boeing confirmation. The order broke Boeing's monopoly with the airline and forced Boeing into a re-engined 737. As this sale included a Most-Favoured-Customer Clause, Airbus has to refund any difference to American if it sells to another airline at a lower price, so the European manufacturer can not give a competitive price to competitor United Airlines, leaving it to a Boeing-skewed fleet.
On August 13, 2015, the first 737 MAX fuselage completed assembly at Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas, for a test aircraft that would eventually be delivered to launch customer Southwest Airlines. On December 8, 2015, the first 737 MAX—a MAX 8 named Spirit of Renton—was rolled out at the Boeing Renton Factory. Because GKN could not produce the titanium honeycomb inner walls for the thrust reversers quickly enough, Boeing switched to a composite part produced by Spirit to deliver 47 MAXs per month in 2017. Spirit supplies 69% of the 737 airframe, including the fuselage, thrust reverser, engine pylons, nacelles, and wing leading edges. A new spar-assembly line with robotic drilling machines should increase throughput by 33%. The Electroimpact automated panel assembly line sped up the wing lower-skin assembly by 35%. Boeing planned to increase its 737 MAX monthly production rate from 42 planes in 2017 to 57 planes by 2019.
The rate increase strained the production and by August 2018, over 40 unfinished jets were parked in Renton, awaiting parts or engine installation, as CFM engines and Spirit fuselages were delivered late. After parked airplanes peaked at 53 at the beginning of September, Boeing reduced this by nine the following month, as deliveries rose to 61 from 29 in July and 48 in August. In collaboration with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd., Boeing has built a completion and delivery facility for the 737 MAX in Zhoushan, China. This facility initially handles interior finishing only, but will subsequently be expanded to include paintwork. The first aircraft was delivered from the facility to Air China on December 15, 2018.
On March 11, 2019, in response to the Lion Air and subsequent Ethiopian Airlines accidents (See § Accidents and incidents, below.), China ordered the grounding of all 737 MAX aircraft operated by its airlines. Over the next two days, individual airlines and government authorities around the world also suspended operation of the aircraft, in contrast to the usual coordinated approach. Two days later, having initially resisted requests, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the aircraft in the U.S. as the last aviation regulator to take action. Boeing, after resisting initial requests, then changed its mind and recommended the grounding to the FAA. As of March 14, 2019, Boeing suspended deliveries of new aircraft, but continued production. European and Canadian regulators will conduct their own safety assessments independently of the FAA before lifting the grounding order. The 737 MAX's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (see § MCAS, below) was implicated in the Lion Air accident and came under suspicion due to apparent similarities in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. Experts suggested that pilot training on the MCAS was insufficient.
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