Boeing Takes Another Punch As India Decides To Self-Certify The 737 MAX

India has joined a growing list of countries that have decided to develop their own training programs and certifications as well as independent inspections of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft when they are cleared to fly again by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The planes have been grounded worldwide since March when a second crash occurred. Two crashes within five months of each other had killed a total of 346 people.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation indicated Tuesday that it may consider mandating a minimum number of flying hours for the pilots of the 737 Max, Reuters reported. This cannot be confirmed entirely though, as the source spoke to the news agency on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. But they said a decision would be made once it's clear when the planes are cleared by the FAA to return to the air, going so far as to require Boeing to provide simulators and restricting the aircraft to pilots with experience.

India's SpiceJet currently has 13 737 MAX planes that are gounded and another nine sitting ready in Seattle. The country's second-largest airline by market share has placed a firm order for 155 of them. The grounding has hit its expansion and international plans and reports said it may buy some of the 737 MAX planes ordered by the now bankrupt Jet Airways.

The 737 Max, the fastest-selling plane that Boeing has ever produced, has come under intense scrutiny after issues relating to its MCAS software were determined to be the cause of the crashes. Some of the reports said Boeing farmed out its software development to the lowest bidder, paying as little as $9 us per hour when first-rate software engineers should have done that work.

Boeing is going to have to make a key certification test flight to get approval from the FAA for the planes to even fly again. The test flight will only pertain to models that existed with airworthiness certificates when the plane was grounded. The FAA will continue to analyze each aircraft as it comes off the assembly line in order to issue an airworthiness certificate.

Despite the recent problems with the 737 Max model, Boeing raked in orders for about 60 of the jets at the Dubai Air Show alone, and reports had said it had pressured the FAA to speed up the certification. A source with the FAA told International Business Times confirmed that the FAA is under pressure to certify the plane flight ready but will not take shortcuts. Boeing had told CNBC that it has not changed its outlook for returning the jets to commercial service by the end of January, but the FAA source said the agency had no decided timeline.

The agency has even refused to allow the company to deliver already completed planes to buyers while the certification process drags on, showing the how deep the lack of trust runs between the regulator and the plane maker.