DNA Explainer: Banned after 2 fatal crashes, how Boeing scripted 737 Max airplane's return

The Indian aviation safety regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed the commercial operations of Boeing 737 Max planes in the country after two years halt. DGCA had banned the operations of the planes in March 2019 following two deadly crashes of the aircraft killing some 346 people.

The Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded globally in March 2019 after two crashes within 5 months. And now after carrying out the required safety modifications they have once again been allowed to start commercial operations. Regulators in the US, EU, and UAE have already given their nod to fly the planes.

DGCA Chief Arun Kumar issued an order revoking the March 2019 grounding of B737-8/9 Max. SpiceJet is the only Indian carrier with B737 Max planes in India.

Why were Boeing 737 Max planes banned?

In October 2018, the Boeing 737 Max plane crashed in the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta in Indonesia.

Later, in March 2019, another aircraft of the same model crashed in Ethiopia. Both these accidents killed a total of 346 people. 

After two crashes within a short span of five months, aviation authorities globally decided to ground the plane.

After the second crash, the aviation authorities decided that first an investigation into the cause would be looked at.

During that time large carriers like United, American, Southwest, Air Canada, and SpiceJet were operating the 737 Max planes in their fleets.

China was the first country to ground the Boeing 737 Max planes and others soon followed suit.

After India's clearance to fly, China now remains the only major market to have still not allowed the plane to fly.

India allows Boeing 737 MAX planes to fly ending an over 2-year ban https://t.co/0zDNZhXXrt pic.twitter.com/Ia5VcJjUnp

— Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) August 27, 2021

What investigation revealed

Investigations revealed that the main cause of the accidents was a design flaw in the most modern jetliner.

The latest Boeing 737 model is equipped with a maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS).

This system is responsible for pushing the aircraft's nose down when it senses a high angle of attack that may lead to an aircraft stall.

If an aircraft's nose is too high, the plane loses speed and can enter a state in which it loses flight and can fall from the sky.

The maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) was designed to prevent such an eventuality.

The crashes happened because the MCAS falsely misread the plane's angle of attack during the ascent.

This misreading by MCAS forced the Boeing 737 Max aircraft's nose down, leading to the crash.

Several other shortcomings were also found out with the processes laid down by Boeing as well as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

What has been India's stand

India had eighteen Boeing 737 Max planes - five ex-Jet and 13 SpiceJet Max at the time of grounding. 

Boeing will need to carry out modifications of SpiceJet Max before they can fly again.

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala also plans to launch an airline by early next year with a B737 Max fleet.

India had barred the Max from flying to, from, within, and over Indian airspace on March 13, 2019.

Earlier in April, the DGCA allowed foreign-registered Boeing 737 Max aircraft that was grounded in India to be flown out of the country.

The DGCA also allowed overflying of modified Boeing 737 Max aircraft over Indian airspace.