A Boeing 737 MAX 8 being built for Oman Air took off from Renton, Washington and taxied past a Boeing hanger after landing in Seattle Friday, amid the air ban of the plane model.
Last week the US was the only nation to have not grounded the jets after a second plane crash in five months, this time in Ethiopia.
But President Donald Trump finally announced MAX flights would be grounded pending investigation into the similarities between that incident and one in Indonesia last year, and now the planes are being tested on the West Coast.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 being built for Oman Air takes off from Renton Municipal Airport, Friday
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 being built for Oman Air taxis past a Boeing hanger after landing at Boeing Field, Friday
Images showed the aircraft soaring into the sky at Renton Municipal Airport and landing at Boeing Field.
Oman Air operated five of the aircraft before the Ethiopia Airlines crash. It announced the arrival of its fleet last January when it said it ordered 30 of the model.
But the sultanate's carrier said in a tweet earlier this month about their actions following the Addis Ababa crash that killed 157 people and the Lion Air crash that took the lives of 189: 'Oman Air's primary and overriding consideration is the safety and well-being of its staff and guests.'
As Oman Air planes tested out the 737 MAX 8s, Boeing said it is 'still building airplanes' and delivering the older 737 NG models.
The 737 MAX 8s were being built at a rate of 57 per month.
A new automatic flight control system could be behind the planes nosediving to their dooms in October 2018 and March this year.
One of two sensors that measures the angle of attack is pictured at bottom on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane outside the company's factory on March 22, 2019 in Renton, Washington
The sensor and the associated software are at the center of a safety investigation after two 737 MAX airliners crashed within five months of one another
A worker on a lift works on a Boeing 737 Max 8 being built for SpiceJet at Renton Municipal Airport, Friday
Boeing plans to have a solution for the MCAs in April but the Federal Aviation Administration has allowed the jets to be from Renton to Boeing Field, Moses Lake or other locations to be stored while waiting for delivery or flight approval.
Works on Boeing 737 Max 8 being built for SpiceJet were also seen on Friday
American Airlines pilots are to test Boeing Co's 737 MAX software fix on simulators this weekend, the pilots' union told Reuters on Thursday, a key
