WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co won approval on Wednesday from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to fly its 737 MAX jet again after two fatal crashes that triggered two years of regulatory scrutiny and corporate upheaval.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson signed an order lifting the 20-month flight ban, the longest in commercial aviation history, and the agency released details of the software upgrades and training changes it is mandating for the plane to fly again with passengers.

The 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people within five months in 2018 and 2019 and triggered a hailstorm of investigations, frayed U.S. leadership in global aviation and cost Boeing some $20 billion.

“We’ve done everything humanly possible to make sure” these types of crashes do not happen again, Dickson told Reuters, saying he felt “100% confident” in the plane’s safety.

The FAA’s move means that U.S. airlines can start flying commercially once they have completed the FAA’s requirements, though flights elsewhere will depend on approval from other regulators across the globe.

In a show of independence, Canada and Brazil said on Wednesday they were continuing their own reviews but expected to conclude the process soon, illustrating how the 737 MAX crashes upended a once U.S.-dominated airline safety system in which nations large and small for decades moved in lock-step with the FAA.

The U.S. planemaker’s best-selling jet will make its comeback facing headwinds from a resurgent coronavirus pandemic, new European trade tariffs and mistrust of one of the most scrutinized brands in aviation.

The 737 MAX is a re-engined upgrade of a jet first introduced in the 1960s. Single-aisle jets like the MAX and rival Airbus A320neo are workhorses that dominate global fleets and provide a major source of industry profit.

Boeing shares were up 2% at $214.21. Shares of major U.S. airlines rose.

Reuters
Photo Rob Vogelaar