Members of the Cayman Airline Pilots’ Association have endorsed the return of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 aircraft to Cayman’s skies.
A statement, released by the association, said while the plane may look the same on the outside the public can rest assured, “the recertification process has designed-out the triggers which were previously identified and resulted in the universal grounding of the aircraft”.
The planes have been grounded since March 2019, when MAX 8 aircraft were involved in two fatal crashes within a five-month span that killed 346 people.
On 27 Jan. this year, the Civil Aviation Authority rescinded its ban on the MAX 8 planes and the use of the aircraft in Cayman’s airspace. The following day Cayman Airways announced that its pilots had undergone the necessary training required to operate planes which were “safe and ready to fly”.
In its statement, the pilots’ association said, “It is our professional opinion that a well-trained and competent crew will only add to the layers of safety now mandated by the recertification process.”
It added, “…[B]ecause of the extraordinary scrutiny from the numerous Civil Aviation Authorities around the world which involved hundreds of professional engineers and pilots, we can say without hesitation that this aircraft is one of the safest aircraft to fly on right now”.
Cayman Airways currently has two MAX 8s which are expected to re-enter service. A third MAX 8 plane has been built and is in storage at a Boeing facility in the US. A fourth plane is on order.
In January, the airline announced it would resume the use of the aircraft in mid-February.
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