WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Aviation Administration acting chief Dan Elwell told lawmakers on Wednesday he expects Boeing Co to submit a software fix for the grounded 737 MAX involved in two fatal crashes for approval soon, and said he was concerned by the planemaker’s lengthy delay in disclosing a software anomaly.

At a congressional hearing, the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee told the FAA it must “get it right” in deciding when to allow the Boeing 737 MAX to fly again.

“The world is watching and the FAA and Boeing must get it right,” Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio said, adding the incidents have raised concerns about how the FAA certifies aircraft.

The Boeing 737 MAX plane was grounded worldwide in mid-March after two crashes in October and March killed 346 people.

Elwell said the agency expects to get the software upgrade and training update from Boeing in the “next week or so.” He said the FAA will only allow the plane to resume flights when it is “absolutely safe to do so … It’s important we get this right,” Elwell said.

Elwell said Boeing should not have waited 13 months to tell the FAA that it inadvertently made an alarm alerting pilots to a mismatch of flight data optional on the 737 MAX, instead of standard as on earlier 737s.

Elwell said he was “concerned” by the delay. “We’re going to look into that,” Elwell said. “Thirteen months is too long.”

Reuters
Photo Rob Vogelaar