[Reporter] There is a lot riding on this plane.
If all goes according to plan it will be the first Boeing 737 Max 8
to carry passengers in Canada since the jets were grounded 22 months ago.
And if you want a sense of how important this is to the airline
consider this:
The person at the controls will be WestJet's Vice President of Flight Operations
veteran 737 pilot Scott Wilson.
I was fortunate to be the operating captain on the first passenger flight in Canada
with the Max in October 2017
and I'm doubly proud to be able to take it out on a passenger flight on the 21st.
[Reporter] The Max, a more fuel-efficient longer-range Boeing 737
debuted three years ago and Canadian air carriers were among the first in line.
WestJet has 13 of them
and this is one of the 24 Max 8's that Air Canada is prepping to get back in the sky.
As their fleets were kept in storage in the dry heat of Arizona
both airlines have been working around the clock to get them ready.
It's a process they call de-preservation.
[Man] Great job guys. Thanks so much.
Richard Steer is in charge of operations and maintenance for Air Canada.
Each of the return to service tasks take approximately 600 man-hours
and you know so we have the right people with the right skill sets and the time allotted to do it.
We wouldn't bring them back if we didn't feel the aircraft was safe so
yes it is the absolute right time and the airplane is ready to go.
[Reporter] But safety and trust were shattered after two Max 8 crashes within five months.
346 people including 18 Canadians were killed.
Airline disasters were almost always due to a series of causes
but what happened in Indonesia and Ethiopia appeared to have at least one thing in common.
Pilots were struggling for control of their plane.
Likely not aware a sensor sent bad information to a computer program
which kept pushing the nose down.
Software called MCAS had been designed to keep the Max 8 from climbing too steeply
but in a very rare set of circumstances.
Adding to the problem, Boeing originally kept MCAS a secret from regulators
and everyone else.
Just this month facing criminal charges the manufacturer agreed to pay $2.5 billion
admitting it deceived the U.S. regulator, the FAA about the MCAS system.
Like WestJet, Air Canada wanted us to see what was happening behind the scenes
for the return of the Max.
They gave us this rare access to one of their simulators.
Air Canada 500 checking in with you in the climb
through 2100 climbing once your laps up.
[Reporter] Originally Boeing said Max pilots wouldn't need to go back into the simulator
to refresh their training
but a year ago they changed their guidance.
[Pilot] Remain seated, remain seated.
[Reporter] And remember that faulty data that triggered the MCAS software
and contributed to the crashes.
It was from something called the angle of attack sensor.
Now pilots are training how to see that and deal with it.
[PIlot] One of the new redundancies that we have is with an angle of attack difference
the speed trim system will be disengaged which would also disengage the MCAS as well.
[Reporter] As part of its new rules
Transport Canada is requiring simulator training
which they say requires what the FAA has mandated in the U.S.
Now every Canadian pilot will spend hours getting familiar once again with the jet
and especially learning what's changed in the last 22 months.
And so the key question is the Max 8 now safe?
I have every confidence now the system has been fixed.
The causes of those two accidents could not occur today based on
what they've done with the software
and I need to point out at Air Canada we've never had a problem with the Max.
We went back and reviewed every single minute of flight
and we looked at the flight control system
and we never had any indication at all there was an issue with the flight control system.
[Reporter] Scott Wilson went down to Miami last month for his simulator training.
He points out among the key changes in the cockpit
will be making it clear to pilots when MCAS is activated
and making it easier for them to take over
or in terms perhaps only an aviation expert will fully appreciate.
It's impossible for the speed trim system with MCAS now
to move the stabilizer to a position that the pilots don't have ultimate and absolute control.
[Reporter] Max 8 passenger flights resumed in the U.S. last month
after the FAA re-certified the jet
but some Canadians remain concerned about what appeared to be a cozy relationship
between the U.S. regulator and the manufacturer the first time around.
Transport Canada says it's conducted its own extensive review with test flights software
checks and consultation with Canadian pilots.
The agency says passengers should feel confident.
I can say that Transport Canada has undertaken a process from the beginning of this grounding.
We outlined exactly the safety concerns that we had on this aircraft
to the FAA and Boeing and through the last 22 months
made sure that all of those safety concerns have been addressed.
[Reporter] For an outside assessment, we went to Larry Vance.
He investigated the Swiss Air crash off the coast of Nova Scotia among others when he
was with the transportation safety board.
He now works as an independent consultant.
There are people who say particularly families of the people who died in those crashes
who say look, you know we had reason not to trust Boeing before.
We have reason not to trust them now.
What do you say to them?
They launched because of that probably the most sophisticated recertification of any aircraft
that's ever happened in the world.
So yes, you can hold them accountable
and you can blame them for what happened before
but that's before and and now we have a brand new certification process
that I am convinced is absolutely spot on
and it makes it one of the safer airplanes to fly on.
Would you fly on it?
Oh absolutely, I would, yes.
I would put myself on it.
I would take my family and have no hesitation in doing so.
[Reporter] The first Canadian passengers in almost two years
will be boarding a flight later this week
and their pilot says he pulled rank to get the assignment.
I'm looking forward to it.
It's been a long 22 months, a valuable 22 months.
This aircraft behind me flew an operational readiness flight this morning
which is our preparedness to go up.W
We test every system on board and it passed with flying colours.
Transport Canada is expected to announce it's validating the Max 8
allowing commercial flights in Canadian airspace in the next few days.
If that happens this plane will depart Calgary for Vancouver on Thursday.