FAA chief: Boeing 737 Max won’t fly until we’re sure it's safe

The new head of the Federal Aviation Administration reassured the American people that the Boeing 737 Max jets will not return to the skies until he is 100 percent certain it can safely fly again.

“This plane will not fly in commercial service again until I am completely assured that it is safe to do so,” FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson said during a swearing-in ceremony in Washington, D.C. Monday. “The FAA is not following any timeline for returning the aircraft to service.”

The Boeing 737 Max planes have remained grounded by aviation officials since mid-March as the company copes with the fallout of two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. Lion Air Flight 610 crashed last October shortly after takeoff in Indonesia. Investigators noted a malfunction in the Max 8 jet's flight-control system, known as MCAS, caused the plane's nose to be pushed down before it plunged into the Java Sea killing 189 people.

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BA THE BOEING CO. 143.41 -2.67 -1.83%

The same software was implicated in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that killed 157 people on board in March.

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Dickenson said the FAA will continue to be a safety-driven organization working together to retain and restore the trust of the American people.

“We are going where the facts lead us and diligently ensuring that all technology and training is present and correct before the plane returns to pass for service,” he said.