FAA Chief Steve Dickson is set to conduct an evaluation flight in command of a Boeing 737.
It is not typical for an FAA administrator to fly an airplane before it returns to service. Dickson has repeatedly said he would not sign off until he flew it himself and was “satisfied that I would put my own family on it without a second thought.”
The FAA told U.S. lawmakers in an email Friday that Dickson and FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell “will be in Seattle next week to take the recommended training.” The flight by Dickson will fulfill “his promise to fly the aircraft before the FAA approves its return to service.”
Given required time for public comments, it appears MAX could get final FAA approval to return to service sometime in November, sources briefed on the matter said.