The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave its seal of approval for the Boeing 737 MAX to return to service, lifting a 22-month flight ban after two crashes left 346 people dead.  

"Following extensive analysis by EASA, we have determined that the 737 MAX can safely return to service," EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said in a statement. 

Ky said the assessment of the aircraft was carried out in full independence of Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration and without any economic or political pressure. And that the agency carried out its own flight tests and simulator sessions.  

The plane has already been cleared to resume flights in North America and Brazil.  
 

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While the EASA called the plane's return to service a "significant milestone on a long road," a former senior manager at Boeing's 737 Factory in Renton, U.S. claims the plane is still "not fixed."

Ed Pierson, who testified as a whistleblower before Congress, says more investigation into electrical issues is needed, adding that the role of "a chaotic and dangerously unstable production environment played in the accidents" has largely been ignored.  

The Boeing 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after the plane was involved in two crashes within six months of each other. Investigators believe both crashes were caused by a piece of flight control software known as MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System).  

The system ran on just one sensor. When the sensor malfunctioned, it repeatedly pushed the nose of the airplane downwards. The pilots tried to correct by pulling the plane up. In both accidents, the pilots lost control of the plane, resulting in a crash. 

After the grounding, the EASA mandated four conditions be met for the plane to return to service: package of software upgrades; electrical reworking and maintenance checks; operations manual updates; and crew training. It said on Wednesday all those conditions had been met.  

"Let me be quite clear that this journey does not end here," he added. "We have every confidence that the aircraft is safe, which is the precondition for giving our approval. But we will continue to monitor 737 MAX operations closely as the aircraft resumes service."