Lack of simulators may delay return of Boeing 737 Max jets

Training needed to recertify pilots on the Boeing 737 Max could delay the aircraft's return to service, if a high level of preparation is required for the updated version of the anti-stall system, according to global regulators.

Airlines hope to have the airplanes back in service by late summer, but a meeting last week in Texas underscored a basic problem: There are not enough flight simulators available to introduce pilots to the new software for the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

"Simulators are very expensive," John Cochran, president of Eaglemark, an aviation consulting firm, and professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at Auburn University, told China Daily.