Boeing test pilots have been evaluating recent software changes to the 737 MAX Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which the FAA has suggested could be linked to the Lion Air 737 MAX 8 crash last year and the 737 MAX accident in Ethiopia on March 10. The updated software has undergone a series of 127 test flights which were completed on April 18.
The news agency CNN has reported that pilots and training officials from three US carriers – Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines – have met with the manufacturer to review the amendments to the software and are also believed to have flown one of the prototype aircraft that has been updated with the latest software. In the simulations, pilots tested the original procedure to disable the system and then used the updated software – it was claimed the new system required less intervention from the pilots.
