US aviation regulators meet global counterparts over 737 MAX

Officials of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met aviation regulators from over 30 countries over the safety of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets.

After the closed-door meeting on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell told the media that "we are going through an incredibly intensive and robust process to make the safety case to unground the MAX", adding that the FAA won't let the plane fly "until we have made that safety case", reports Xinhua news agency.

According to industry analysts, the meeting in Fort Worth, about 420 km north of downtown Houston, is crucial to the FAA efforts to convince other international regulators to lift their bans on the aircraft.

International regulators have said they plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's software changes and have stressed the need for additional pilot training.

China became the first to halt the commercial operations of all Boeing 737 MX 8 jetliners after the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people aboard.

It was the second crash involving the aircraft model after one operated by Indonesia's Lion Air crashed in October last year claiming the lives of 189 people, triggering global scrutiny and bans on operating the aircraft.

The China Southern Airlines on Wednesday filed a compensation claim against Boeing after the grounding and delayed delivery of the 737 MAX.

On Tuesday, China Eastern Airlines said it formally requested compensation from Boeing for the grounding of its 14 Boeing 737 Max and delayed delivery of the aircraft.

--IANS

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