The EU's aviation regulator is reportedly still concerned about Boeing's 737 MAX


Boeing's 737 remains grounded, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency isn't sure that should change anytime soon, The Wall Street Journal reports.
EU regulators reportedly disagree with Boeing and the Federal Aviation Agency about whether changes to the plane's new software have made the model adequately safe after two crashes within the last year in Indonesia and Ethiopia that led to 346 deaths. EASA reportedly hasn't reached a final verdict, and could still wind up supporting Boeing's changes in tandem with the FAA, which along with Boeing is still testing the results of a new flight-control system before attempting to get the 737 MAX back in the sky.
But the Journal reports that the European regulator looks like likely to diverge from its U.S. counterpart unless the two sides can reach a compromise in the next few weeks. Boeing, for its part, is reportedly frustrated that EASA hasn't specified why exactly it's still not necessarily ready to sign off the changes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Regardless, sources briefed on the details told the Journal, that the regulator's objections could set an industry-wide precedent for foreign authorities to second-guess safety decisions made by the FAA. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Democrats: The 2028 race has begun
Feature Democratic primaries have already kicked off in South Carolina
-
The Pentagon's missing missiles
Feature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spending
Feature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement