Troubled 737 Max Nearing Takeoff As FAA Review Of Jetliner Nearly Complete

The Federal Aviation Administration is getting closer to allowing Boeing's troubled 737 Max commercial jetliner to fly passengers again.

FAA chief Stephen Dickson says his agency "is in the final stages of reviewing the proposed changes to the Boeing 737 Max," adding that the agency could complete its evaluation of the fixes "in coming days" and allow the plane to return to service. Reuters is reporting that the plane could be recertified by the FAA as soon as Nov. 18.

Aviation authorities around the world, including the FAA, grounded the 737 Max in March 2019, after a 737 Max operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed, killing all 157 people on board. It was the second deadly Max crash in less than five months. A Lion Air max jet crashed in Indonesia on Oct. 29, 2018, killing all 189 people on the plane.

Both crashes were blamed on a flawed flight control system that, based on erroneous data, repeatedly forced the planes into nose dives that the pilots could not control.