Boeing 737 MAX

The 737 MAX is safe to fly today, but it has the weakest record of any jet Boeing or Airbus builds today, and for a clear reason. Two crashes in five months, Lion Air 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian 302 in March 2019, killed all 346 people on board. Both were caused by flight control software that Boeing has since redesigned. Since the MAX returned to service in late 2020, no one has died in a MAX accident.

What the MAX is and where you fly on it

The MAX is the fourth generation of the 737, with new CFM LEAP-1B engines and updated wings on an airframe that dates back to the 1960s. It first flew in 2016 and entered service in 2017. About 2,200 have been built and about 1,900 are in service. The MAX 8 is by far the most common; the MAX 8-200 is a high-density version launched by Ryanair. The MAX 9 is longer. The MAX 7 and MAX 10 were still awaiting certification in 2025.

You are likely to board one with Southwest, United, American, Alaska, Ryanair, Air Canada, WestJet, TUI, flydubai, Turkish Airlines, Akasa or Chinese carriers.

Why it crashed, and what changed

The bigger LEAP engines had to sit further forward and higher on the wing, which changed how the aircraft pitches up at high angles of attack. Boeing added MCAS, software that trims the nose down automatically in those conditions. In its first form, MCAS read one angle-of-attack sensor, could fire repeatedly and was not described in pilot manuals.

On Lion Air 610, a miscalibrated replacement sensor fed it false data, and MCAS pushed the nose down over and over until the aircraft dived into the Java Sea. On Ethiopian 302, the sensor failed just after take-off and the same sequence followed. Ethiopian investigators also listed the lack of an "AOA disagree" alert and the absence of MCAS from pilot training.

Regulators grounded the MAX worldwide in March 2019. The FAA cleared it in November 2020 after Boeing made MCAS compare both sensors, activate only once per event and never push harder than pilots can counter with the control column. Simulator training on these failures became mandatory. In January 2021 Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion under a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department over how it informed the FAA about MCAS.

The next scare was about manufacturing. On 5 January 2024 a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 shortly after take-off from Portland. All 177 people survived. The FAA grounded MAX 9s with that door plug for inspections and capped Boeing's MAX production while the company reworked its quality controls.

The fatal record

Two events, both counted, up to 7 October 2026:

• 29 October 2018, Lion Air 610, Jakarta. All 189 on board died.
• 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines 302, Addis Ababa to Nairobi. All 157 on board died.

Both killed everyone on board, so each adds a full loss in our methodology. Because the MAX has flown only about 10.5 million passenger flights, those two losses weigh heavily, which is why its score sits below the 737 NG and the A320 family.

How to tell if you are on one

Flight apps show the ICAO code: B37M for the MAX 7, B38M for the MAX 8 (including the 8-200), B39M for the MAX 9 and B3XM for the MAX 10. Many airlines now list the aircraft as "Boeing 737-8" or "737-9" without the word MAX. From outside, the saw-tooth rear edges of the engine covers mark it out from the older 737 NG; the split winglets are less reliable, since some NGs have been retrofitted with similar ones.

If you would rather avoid the MAX, check the aircraft code a day or two before departure, since airlines sometimes swap aircraft. On current evidence, though, the airline's own record matters more than the type.