Boeing share price dives as regulator rejects 737 Max wiring plan
Boeing’s share price dived today after the aerospace giant suffered another blow in its attempt to get its 737 Max model flying again after US regulators said its wiring bundles did not meet safety standards.
Shares initially plunged over 10 per cent before recovering slightly, but the US firm was still down eight seven per cent by the mid-afternoon.
On Friday the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) told Boeing that it would not be able to leave its wiring bundles in place, which means the firm must now decide how to edit the plane’s design.
In February the planemaker had said it did not think it would be required to separate or move the bundles, which regulators said could lead to the 737 Max short circuiting.
Boeing had pointed the FAA to the fact that its 737 NG model, which has been in service since 1997, has the same configuration as the 737 Max for its wiring bundles.
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A source told Reuters back in January that the firm was working on an alternative design for the bundles if necessary.
However, the ruling is another blow for the beleaguered plane, which was first grounded a year ago after two fatal crashes.
Last month the company found potentially dangerous debris in the plane’s fuel tanks, leading to an immediate inspection of the entire fleet.
The company has said its best estimate is that the aircraft will remain grounded until mid-2020, after endorsing simulator training for pilots before flights resume, and that regulators will determine the timing.
The share price dive came on the same day that the Ethiopian government released a report saying that last year’s Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed 157 people, was caused by a faulty sensor reading and the activation of an anti-stall system on the model.
The report did not mention any errors by the plane’s pilots, instead noting only that they were trained, fully certified and medically cleared to fly.