FAA administrator begins 737 MAX evaluation flight in Seattle

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Aviation Administration Chief Steve Dickson began an evaluation flight at the controls of a Boeing 737 MAX <BA.N> Wednesday in Seattle just before 9 a.m. PDT, a key milestone as the U.S. planemaker works to win approval to resume flights, the agency said.

The Boeing 737 MAX has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Dickson, who was previously a commercial airline and military pilot, repeatedly promised to personally fly the plane before allowing it resume commercial flights. He is scheduled to discuss the two-hour scheduled flight with reporters later.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and David Shepardson in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul)