UAE’s aviation body to join FAA panel on Boeing 737 MAX

The United Arab Emirates has accepted an invitation to join the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) review panel on the Boeing 737 MAX, a senior official told Reuters on Thursday.

The invitation has been received and the UAE has agreed to join, said Ismael al Blooshi, assistant director, safety affairs at the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

The MAX has been grounded globally since last month following two fatal crashes in five months involving the same aircraft type, killing 346 people.

Boeing has said a software update to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system, which is under scrutiny after the deadly nose-down crashes, would be submitted in the coming weeks.

“Based on their corrective action plan we will validate that plan independently and maybe cooperate with other entities in Europe and based on that if we feel comfortable we will decide [if we lift the grounding],” GCAA director general Saif Mohammed al-Suwaidi told Reuters at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

UAE carrier flydubai is a MAX operator.