Post by robeiae on Mar 13, 2019 8:47:54 GMT -5
Two shortly-after-take-off crashes in six months, hundreds of people dead, questions about the advanced features of the plane have lead to most of the world grounding the plane until there has been a thorough investigation:
Boeing is standing by its plane, refusing to ground it as a company. And so far, the FAA is doing the same:
I understand this point of view, and I think the article makes a good point: the time to ground the planes was immediately after the last crash. Grounding them now would be a foolish capitulation, provided one is certain they are safe.
On the local radio show down here, the host had a pilot on who said that the issue with the 737 Max 8 was that it had a number of new systems--for safety--that were very much unlike previous systems on any airplane, that crews needed to be fully trained on these systems before flying the plane. This article appears to confirm this to some extent: phys.org/news/2019-03-ethiopian-airlines-mcas-boeing-max.html
Boeing has apparently promised an update to the MCAS system, as well, that would apparently allow pilots to circumvent the MCAS, when necessary. Seems to me--though I'm no expert--that this should have been a feature from the beginning. But I also take the guest's point above about training.
There is also a valid question re the FAA and it's actions or lack thereof: does the Trump admin bear some blame here for not having it's shit together in staffing the FAA: qz.com/1571147/boeing-737-max-crisis-puts-spotlight-on-faa-under-trump/
The above piece also notes that the FAA is now suffering from a "lack of confidence" from other countries. Ethiopian Airlines is sending the black box from the crashed 737 to Europe for analysis, not the FAA.
After the second crash of a 737 Max 8 plane in less than five months, the aviation authorities in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Indonesia, China and other countries have now ordered that none of the planes fly in their airspace.
A growing number of airlines around the globe have announced they won't fly the planes until they know what happened in Sunday's fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet, which killed all aboard. The cause of Sunday's crash is still under investigation. It follows an October crash in which pilots on a Lion Air flight fought an automatic safety system for control of the plane.
A growing number of airlines around the globe have announced they won't fly the planes until they know what happened in Sunday's fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet, which killed all aboard. The cause of Sunday's crash is still under investigation. It follows an October crash in which pilots on a Lion Air flight fought an automatic safety system for control of the plane.
Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said Tuesday that the agency's review of the 737 Max "shows no systematic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft." He added that no other civil aviation authorities have provided data to the FAA that would warrant action, either.
Elwell said the agency continues to review the Ethiopian Airlines crash, and will take "immediate and appropriate action" if "any issues affecting the continued airworthiness of the aircraft are identified."
Elwell said the agency continues to review the Ethiopian Airlines crash, and will take "immediate and appropriate action" if "any issues affecting the continued airworthiness of the aircraft are identified."
On the local radio show down here, the host had a pilot on who said that the issue with the 737 Max 8 was that it had a number of new systems--for safety--that were very much unlike previous systems on any airplane, that crews needed to be fully trained on these systems before flying the plane. This article appears to confirm this to some extent: phys.org/news/2019-03-ethiopian-airlines-mcas-boeing-max.html
The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is an automated safety feature on the 737 Max 8 designed to prevent the plane from entering into a stall, or losing lift.
Both the Lion Air jet, which crashed in October, killing 189 people, and the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, which went down on Sunday, leaving 157 people dead, were fitted with the system.
Both planes experienced similarly erratic steep climbs and descents and fluctuating airspeeds before crashing shortly after takeoff.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while noting the similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents, stressed that it was too early to draw any conclusions.
MCAS was introduced by Boeing on the 737 Max 8 because its heavier, more fuel-efficient engines changed the aerodynamic qualities of the workhorse aircraft and can cause the plane's nose to pitch up in certain conditions during manual flight.
Both the Lion Air jet, which crashed in October, killing 189 people, and the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, which went down on Sunday, leaving 157 people dead, were fitted with the system.
Both planes experienced similarly erratic steep climbs and descents and fluctuating airspeeds before crashing shortly after takeoff.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while noting the similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents, stressed that it was too early to draw any conclusions.
MCAS was introduced by Boeing on the 737 Max 8 because its heavier, more fuel-efficient engines changed the aerodynamic qualities of the workhorse aircraft and can cause the plane's nose to pitch up in certain conditions during manual flight.
There is also a valid question re the FAA and it's actions or lack thereof: does the Trump admin bear some blame here for not having it's shit together in staffing the FAA: qz.com/1571147/boeing-737-max-crisis-puts-spotlight-on-faa-under-trump/
The above piece also notes that the FAA is now suffering from a "lack of confidence" from other countries. Ethiopian Airlines is sending the black box from the crashed 737 to Europe for analysis, not the FAA.