April 11, 2019 - 12:41 PM
DALLAS - The Latest on the Boeing's troubled 737 Max jet (all times local):
2:40 p.m.
Boeing has made 96 flights to test a software update for its troubled 737 Max jet, the company's CEO says.
Dennis Muilenburg said Thursday that more test flights are planned in the coming weeks as Boeing attempts to convince regulators that the plane is safe.
The Max was grounded by regulators around the world last month after a second deadly crash involving the plane, in Ethiopia.
In that crash and an October crash in Indonesia, faulty information from a sensor caused anti-stall automation to kick in and push the plane's nose lower. Pilots were unable to save the planes.
Muilenburg also says Boeing representatives have held meetings in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Singapore and China with pilots and officials from most of the airlines that own Max jets.
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2:30 p.m.
A senator is introducing a bill in Congress requiring plane makers to provide airlines with all safety equipment now considered optional and to do so without an additional charge.
Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts says safety equipment that had not been installed on two Boeing 737 Max jets might have saved them from fatal crashes. He says the equipment might have alerted crews to false readings from sensors implicated in the crashes that killed all 346 aboard.
Markey says plane makers shouldn't treat safety features as luxuries that can generate additional fees like premium seats and extra bathrooms.
Boeing says its planes are equipped with "all critical features" necessary for safety. It has said it will provide two features missing in the two crashed planes free of charge.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019