Families Of Boeing 737 Max Crash Victims Say It's Premature To Let Plane Fly Again
Chicago-based Boeing's 737 Max airplane is returning to the skies. But for those who lost loved ones in the crashes, the move is premature.
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Chicago-based Boeing's 737 Max airplane is returning to the skies. But for those who lost loved ones in the crashes, the move is premature.
The process of approving the plane to carry passengers has stretched on far longer than originally expected and cost Boeing more than $20 billion.
The aircraft maker had already announced was reducing staff by 16,000 jobs earlier this year, through a combination of voluntary and involuntary layoffs.
American Airlines said, upon receiving FAA recertification, it will begin phasing the 737 Max back into service with once-a-day flights between New York and Miami from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.
FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson, a pilot who flew for the military and Delta Air Lines, was expected to sit in the captain's seat during a two-hour flight. An FAA spokesman said Boeing pilots would also be on the plane when it takes off from the former Boeing Field in the Seattle area.
Boeing has found a problem with the manufacturing of the 787 Dreamliner, the widebody jet that is one of the most successful products of the troubled aircraft maker.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated air travel, leaving airlines with more planes than they need.
More trouble is in the air for Boeing. The FAA wants the plane maker to pay a fine of more than $1 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed software changes to a flight-control system implicated in two deadly 737 Max crashes. It also plans to require a warning light to pilots that wasn't working on the planes that crashed, changes to on-board computers, and the rerouting of some wiring.
Boeing said COVID-19 hurt demand for new planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that "in the near future" it will issue a proposed safety directive for the plane. The agency gave no indication, however, of when it might lift its March 2019 order that grounded the plane.
American has orders for 76 Max jets, but wants Boeing to help arrange financing for 17 planes for which previous financing has or will soon expire.
Boeing shielded from federal regulators reviewing its 737 Max aircraft the extent and capability of the flawed computer system that ultimately brought down two jets, according to an inspector general report obtained by CNN.
Boeing has received clearance to begin test flights of its troubled 737 Max jet, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday. The test flights of could begin as early as Monday.
The problem is not related to the flight-control system that pushed planes into nosedives before two deadly Max crashes. The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people.
The company temporarily stopped building the plane in January, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit most of the world's airlines.
A Boeing spokesperson said the actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months.
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused global air traffic to plummet and compounded a crisis at Boeing Co. that began with two fatal crashes and the grounding of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max.
"The demand for commercial airline travel has fallen off a cliff," said Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun. "The pandemic is also delivering a body blow to our business."
Boeing's CEO said Monday that it will take years for the aircraft-building business to return to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic, which has slowed air travel to a trickle and led airlines to park 2,800 jets.
Thousands of Boeing workers are back on the job in Washington state with new procedures to keep them safe from COVID-19.
The company said 27,000 workers are due to return in a phased-in process, with some starting as early as Monday. Most should be back at work by Friday, April 24. Boeing said it will take steps needed to protect their safety.
In a memo to employees, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the company is offering voluntary layoff packages that will provide exiting employees with pay and benefits.
The aerospace giant is among the companies that would qualify for the government-backed loans reserved "for businesses critical to maintaining national security," and the only one that has made it clear that it needs the assistance.
Operations would be reduced beginning Wednesday, the company said in a statement, and production would be suspended for a two weeks.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
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Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
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The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
A source close to the investigation said the woman worked for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney was named the NFL's top offensive lineman of 2025 on Thursday, winning the inaugural Protector of the Year Award.
Local and federal authorities said "investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity" regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.
