BERLIN – Europe’s flight safety authority said Friday the first flight tests for the Boeing 737 Max, which has been grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes revealed design issues with the jet, have now been completed. The test flights conducted over the past week by the European Aviation Safety Agency took place in Vancouver, Canada, because of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus and are now complete, the agency said. “As the next step in its evaluation of the aircraft for return to service, EASA is now analyzing the data and other information gathered during the flights,” the agency said. EASA emphasized it has been working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which began its own recertification test flights in June, and Boeing “to return the Boeing 737 Max aircraft to service as soon as possible, but only once we are convinced it is safe.”Airlines began using the Max in 2017. Last month, the FAA outlined a list of design changes required before it would lift its order grounding the aircraft.

BERLIN Europe's flight safety authority said Thursday it had scheduled the first flight tests for the Boeing 737 Max, which has been grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes revealed design issues with the jet. The European Aviation Safety Agency said in a statement that it has been working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which began its own recertification test flights in June, on scheduling its own tests. While Boeing still has some final actions to close off, EASA judges the overall maturity of the re-design process is now sufficient to proceed to flight tests, the agency said. There were nearly 400 in service when the planes were grounded after a 2018 crash in Indonesia and a 2019 crash in Ethiopia. The EASA flight tests will take place in Vancouver, Canada, in the week starting Sept. 7, EASA said.