The European Union Aviation Safety Agency EASA has made a presentation to the European Union Parliament and stated that they may not be satisfied with the corrective actions taken by Boeing to resolve the issues with Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) of the aircraft. EASA wants that in addition to the control system software, the integrity of the sensors whose malfunction led to two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia be also proved. The EASA wants the aircraft to be proven with the system on as well as with the system switched off.

In a departure from earlier practice, EASA is not accepting the clearance which may be coming from FAA of USA in October. If this happens, it would be for the first time that the regulatory approval of FAA is not accepted by another country. In a scenario wherein Boeing is able to achieve FAA clearance and not EASA clearance, airlines in the USA would be able to operate the Boeing 737 MAX only on domestic American routes. European airlines will need clearance from EASA before they can operate the planes for regular scheduled flights.

Such a situation will also put Boeing in a very awkward position where one regulator (FAA) says that the plane is safe to fly while the other (EASA) refuses permission.

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