In each accident, the pilots finally lost control of the plane.
Within days of the second crash, the Max was banned from passenger flights worldwide. After being grounded for 20 months, the plane resumed domestic services in Brazil and the US last month.
It will now be able to fly in Europe after what EASA calls a package of software upgrades, electrical working rework, maintenance checks, operations manual updates and crew training which will allow the plane to fly safely in European skies after almost two years on the ground.
Flight crew will be required to undergo improved procedures to equip pilots to understand and manage all relevant failure scenarios.
The EASA stresses: “This assessment was carried out in full independence of Boeing or the Federal Aviation Administration and without any economic or political pressure – we asked difficult questions until we got answers and pushed for solutions which satisfied our exacting safety requirements.
“We carried out our own flight tests and simulator sessions and did not rely on others to do this for us.”
Earlier this week a former Boeing 737 manager, Ed Pierson, wrote a paper in which he portrayed “a chaotic and dangerously unstable production environment” in the aircraft factory.
Mr Ky said: “Let me be quite clear that this journey does not end here.
“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.”
An Airworthiness Directive, specifying changes and crew training requirements, must be carried out before each individual plane returns to service.
Each plane must also undergo an operational readiness flight, without passengers.
Following Brexit, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK is responsible for signing off the plane for operation in British skies.
The Independent has asked the CAA when it expects to approve the aircraft.
