China Takes Delivery Of Boeing 737 Max Jet

Boeing has delivered its first 737 Max to a Chinese airline for the first time in nearly five years, according to flight data, in a rare spot of good news for the embattled company, Ciaofei Xu and Chris Isidore reported for CNN.

The delivery is seen as an important affirmation from a key market for the plane maker. I Photo: Boeing

The delivery is seen as an important affirmation from a key market for the plane maker, whose reputation for safety and quality in its commercial jets was dealt a massive blow following a terrifying accident aboard a 10-week-old 737 Max 9 flight on January 5.

Flight tracking website Flightradar 24 said China Southern Airlines flight CZ5073 departed from Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday for China via Honolulu.

The use of the airline’s flight number, instead of a Boeing one, suggests the ownership of the plane has already been transferred.

The plane, a 737 Max 8 according to flight data, was built in September 2019 and has been parked in Boeing’s Seattle factory since then, according to flight tracking sites Flightradar 24 and Aviation Flights.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the aircraft in March 2019 after 346 people died in two separate fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

It was discovered that a safety feature meant to stop the plane from climbing too fast and stalling had improperly forced the nose of the plane down, causing the crashes, as CNN reported previously.

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