Boeing Co reportedly has agreed with Federal Aviation Administration regulators to relocate some wiring bundles on 737 MAX jets before those jets are returned to service, a design detail Boeing had until recently maintained did not present any risk to the safety or performance of the aircraft.
According to the FAA the wiring bundles are placed too close to each other in numerous locations in the aircraft, including in an electrical cabin located under the cockpit. Agency inspectors have labeled the design non-compliant, arguing that a short circuit could lead to pilots' loss of control of the aircraft.
Also recently, Boeing reportedly claimed that changing the wiring bundles would not alter its goal of gaining FAA clearance to return the 737 MAX to commercial service by midyear.
The 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in October 2018 and March 2019, which killed a total of 346 passengers and crew members. Both crashes were attributed to defective flight-control software that prevented pilots from controlling the planes' acceleration.
A new software program has been developed and tested, and certification flights to validate the revised version are pending.
In addition to FAA, air-safety agencies in Europe, Brazil, China, and elsewhere must rule to allow the 737 MAX to resume service.
Other problems with the 737 MAX have been identified in the course of the grounding, including the wiring bundles and the reliability of exterior panels on engine nacelles and struts. FAA has said those panels may not provide adequate shielding of the underlying wiring from the electromagnetic effects of lightning strikes or high-intensity radiated fields, which may lead to a "a dual-engine power loss event".
