Boeing has resumed deliveries of the 737 Max, with United Airlines receiving an aircraft on 8 December, the carrier confirms. The delivery to United comes nearly 21 months after regulators worldwide grounded the 737 Max following two crashes. The US Federal Aviation Administration lifted the grounding on 18 November, requiring a series of software changes and setting new pilot-training standards. “We took our first Max delivery since the grounding,” United says. The airline adds that it “will inspect every aircraft, require our pilots to undergo additional training reviewed and approved by the FAA, and conduct test flights before we bring these aircraft back into service”. “We expect to start flying the Max in the first quarter of next year,” United adds. Boeing defers comment to United. The Chicago airframer, airlines and the FAA insist changes made to the jet have eliminated the possibility of another accident being caused by the same sequence of events that contributed to two previous crashes. Those accidents killed 346 people. United has 14 737 Max already in its fleet and another 170 of the jets on order with Boeing. Boeing has an inventory of some 450 undelivered 737 Max, and executives have said the company hopes to deliver half of those within about one year.

Japanese authorities are investigating a significant engine failure aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 777-200, which involved the loss of large panel and fan blade damage. The incident occurred on 4 December as the aircraft, JA8978 (MSN 27637), operated flight JL904 from Okinawa’s Naha airport to Tokyo Haneda, says JAL. At 11:53, nine minutes after taking off, the crew requested to make an emergency landing. The aircraft returned safely to Naha, with none of the 178 passengers and 11 crew injured. “Upon taking off from Okinawa Naha airport, the left engine experienced a malfunction at approximately 16,000-17,000 feet,” says JAL. “Upon inspection, a part of the engine cover and the fan blade were confirmed to be damaged. As a result, the [Japan Civil Aviation Bureau] categorised the event as a serious Incident.” mages on social media show part of the left-hand Pratt & Whitney PW4000’s outboard casing sticking upwards, with most of the panel apparently shorn off. Another image suggests that the tips of several fan blades are missing. Following the incident, Japanese authorities have asked Japan’s 777-200 operators to recheck their aircraft and engines.

Organisers of the Paris Air Show 2021 have cancelled the event, citing the continuing uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.

The show had been scheduled to take place from 21-27 June 2021. But the air show organising board, in a joint decision with French aerospace industry association GIFAS, state that it will not take place. The cancellation, they add, has proven “inevitable” given the number of visitors the event attracts and the continuing health crisis. “This reasonable decision was agreed upon unanimously by the Paris Air Show board members in the context of a crisis that has had an unprecedented impact on the aerospace industry,” they state. The organisers are finalising a date for the subsequent show, which will be in June 2023. “Exhibitors will receive a full refund of all sums already paid and the Paris Air Show will take full financial responsibility for this decision,” they state. Air show chief Gilles Fournier says the organisation shares the “disappointment” of the exhibitors and other participants, but insists the 2023 event will be “larger than ever”.