Ethiopian Air ET302, Boeing 737 crashes - 157 souls - 10 March 2019

[MsFacetious]

Seattle Times: DOJ Boeing investigation expands to 787 Dreamliner - CNNPolitics

 

[gregjrichards]

Seattle Times: DOJ Boeing investigation expands to 787 Dreamliner - CNNPolitics

I do wonder why it has expanded this aircraft appears to be safe apart from the initial battery problem.

 

[JudgeJudi]

It is now apparent that the 737 Max will be grounded through at least late this year. Boeing (BA) has confirmed it won't even submit its latest fix for the aircraft to the FAA until September, so this and other flights will likely stay canceled longer than early September. Last week Southwest announced its canceled flights would be extended until at least October 1.

American is first US airline to drop a route because of 737 Max grounding - CNN

 

[JudgeJudi]

Global regulators will meet in Montreal next week to review pilot licensing requirements, the UN’s aviation agency said, as part of a discussion that has gained urgency following two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the past year.

It is the first time that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which sets global standards for 193 member countries, will undertake such a broad review on training requirements.

While the meeting was not called in response to the MAX crashes in Indonesia last October and in Ethiopia in March, it coincides with a larger debate on whether increasingly automated commercial jets are compromising pilot skills.

Most attention surrounding the two 737 MAX crashes focuses on suspected flaws in an automated stall-prevention system called MCAS. But the training given to pilots to allow them to handle such problems smoothly is also under scrutiny, expanding an industry debate over pilot skills that has been raging for years as crew spend less and less time flying aircraft manually.

At the Montreal meeting, regulators will discuss flying hours and competency-based training, where pilots demonstrate skills like landing an airplane, as opposed to focusing on learning to fly and accumulating hours regardless of aircraft type.

“What we’re seeing in highly-automated aircraft, it’s not how to manage the airplane if things are OK. It’s those unexpected malfunctions that throw the airplane off,” Marin said. “We think that can only be addressed with a different type of approach to training rather than just saying, give them more hours.”

World’s regulators to review pilot licensing in Montreal after 737 MAX crashes

 

[JudgeJudi]

Boeing says it's providing $US100 million over several years to help families and communities affected by two crashes of its 737 MAX plane that killed 346 people.

Key points:

• The funds will not go directly to families
• Boeing has pledged to match any employee donations until December
• Software has been identified as a common link in the crashes

The multi-year payout is independent of lawsuits filed by families of the 346 people killed in the two crashes.

The funds will not go direct to the families, but will be given to local governments and non-profit organisations to help families with education and living expenses and to spur economic development in affected communities.

Boeing also said it would match any employee donations through December.

The company is in settlement talks over the Lion Air litigation and has separately offered to negotiate with families of Ethiopian Airlines victims, although some families have said they are not ready to settle.

Boeing to pay $142m to families and communities affected by 737 MAX crashes

 

[gregjrichards]

A Boeing 737 Max due to be delivered to Ryanair has had the model's name changed on the nose of the aircraft, it has emerged.

Photos shared on Twitter show a plane in Ryanair colours outside Boeing's manufacturing base, with the name 737 Max replaced by 737-8200.

It has fuelled speculation that the troubled Max will be rebranded after two fatal accidents led to a worldwide grounding.

Boeing and Ryanair have yet to comment.

Boeing ditches 737 Max name on new Ryanair plane

I knew this would happen that the flying public would be duped with an aircraft rebrand.

 

[JudgeJudi]

That's just appalling. Boeing is a totally disingenuous company with dreadful business practices.

 

[BeachSky]

I did not know where to put this but it is disgusting & beyond scary.
The aircraft was boarded & ready for take off.


Miami airline mechanic tampered with American Airlines plane to get overtime pay, feds say

An aircraft maintenance worker at Miami’s airport allegedly tampered with a passenger plane’s hardware in July to get overtime pay amid a stalled union contract dispute, according to court documents.

The American Airlines plane with 150 people on board never left for the scheduled July 17 flight from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas after flight crew noticed an error to the "air data module" and called it off say.


He allegedly used super glue to attach a piece of foam into an inlet on the air data module, which reports information like an aircraft’s speed, pitch and other data, according to the document.

 

[PrairieWind]

I did not know where to put this but it is disgusting & beyond scary.
The aircraft was boarded & ready for take off.


Miami airline mechanic tampered with American Airlines plane to get overtime pay, feds say

An aircraft maintenance worker at Miami’s airport allegedly tampered with a passenger plane’s hardware in July to get overtime pay amid a stalled union contract dispute, according to court documents.

The American Airlines plane with 150 people on board never left for the scheduled July 17 flight from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas after flight crew noticed an error to the "air data module" and called it off say.


He allegedly used super glue to attach a piece of foam into an inlet on the air data module, which reports information like an aircraft’s speed, pitch and other data, according to the document.

That is just insane!!!

 

[BeachSky]

That is just insane!!!

I know!
Was he going to let it take off with all those souls onboard?!
He only confessed once they (later )caught him on video!


JMO

 

[gregjrichards]

Boeing has fired its chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, in a bid to restore confidence in the firm after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max plane.

More than 340 people died in the disasters, prompting accusations that Boeing put profit before safety.

Families of the victims welcomed Mr Muilenberg's resignation as overdue.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50893490

This should have happened months ago. It is very difficult to feel happy about someone losing their job just before Christmas however this is an exception. I expect he left with a big payout/stock.

 

[drama_farmer]

Boeing discloses more ‘very disturbing’ messages about 737 Max
Boeing discloses more ‘very disturbing’ messages about 737 Max
“But similar to other records previously disclosed by Boeing, the records appear to point to a very disturbing picture of both concerns expressed by Boeing employees about the company’s commitment to safety and efforts by some employees to ensure Boeing’s production plans were not diverted by regulators or others,” a committee aide said in a statement."
bbm

IMO, the ousting of Boeing's Chief Executive isn't so much a declaration that the company is changing the way it "does business," it's more of an "optics" sort of ploy. I wonder if the problems within Boeing are similar to problems with other major companies that deal with U.S. Regulatory agencies.

 

[Justice101]

The root cause of the 2 crashes in my humble opinion are:
1) Boeing designing the plane with the raised thrusters that only one of the two angle of attack sensors got used on the glide trim software. (Using the second one was an upgrade option only if you paid for it when you bought the plane).

and 2) Lower standard of trained pilots overseas. Plus many didn't buy the upgrade safety package.

In my opinion, this was 75% Boeing's fault and 25% the two airlines.

 

[gregjrichards]

During the exhaustive review of the 737 MAX systems demanded by safety regulators, Boeing has discovered a potential new wiring design problem that could add delay to the company’s target of returning the jet to service around March.

And a separate manufacturing issue affecting MAXs built over the past year will require hours of repair work on a large number of jets to ensure the engines are fully protected from a lightning strike before they can fly again.

The impact of the potential design problem inside some wiring bundles is still unknown.

New snags add to uncertainty over Boeing 737 MAX’s return to service

This aircraft has been a total disaster it should never fly again.

 

[PrairieWind]

Looks like the EU has given the 737 Max the thumbs up to return to service in Europe.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Boeing pleads not guilty to charge over jet crashes

WORLD is a news organization producing Biblically sound, daily coverage of global, national, and cultural current events.

wng.org

Aviation giant Boeing pleaded not guilty Thursday in a Texas court to a fraud charge related to a flight control system that caused two major crashes. The 2018 crash in Indonesia and the 2019 crash in Ethiopia together killed 346 people and led to a 20-month grounding for the Boeing 737 Max jet. Boeing avoided criminal prosecution in January 2021 by accepting a plea deal with the Justice Department. The company agreed to pay $2.5 billion in fines, including $500 million to the families.

 

[PrairieWind]

Global regulators will meet in Montreal next week to review pilot licensing requirements, the UN’s aviation agency said, as part of a discussion that has gained urgency following two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the past year.

It is the first time that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which sets global standards for 193 member countries, will undertake such a broad review on training requirements.

While the meeting was not called in response to the MAX crashes in Indonesia last October and in Ethiopia in March, it coincides with a larger debate on whether increasingly automated commercial jets are compromising pilot skills.

Most attention surrounding the two 737 MAX crashes focuses on suspected flaws in an automated stall-prevention system called MCAS. But the training given to pilots to allow them to handle such problems smoothly is also under scrutiny, expanding an industry debate over pilot skills that has been raging for years as crew spend less and less time flying aircraft manually.

At the Montreal meeting, regulators will discuss flying hours and competency-based training, where pilots demonstrate skills like landing an airplane, as opposed to focusing on learning to fly and accumulating hours regardless of aircraft type.

“What we’re seeing in highly-automated aircraft, it’s not how to manage the airplane if things are OK. It’s those unexpected malfunctions that throw the airplane off,” Marin said. “We think that can only be addressed with a different type of approach to training rather than just saying, give them more hours.”

World’s regulators to review pilot licensing in Montreal after 737 MAX crashes

I assume this all got sorted out. I flew on a max last week, though I didn't realize until we were getting off. then on my layover, i was looking and was amazed at the number of 737 max planes.

 

[gregjrichards]

I assume this all got sorted out. I flew on a max last week, though I didn't realize until we were getting off. then on my layover, i was looking and was amazed at the number of 737 max planes.

I’m glad that the problem with the Max plane software thankfully appears to have been addressed but I’m still not flying any airline that has them.

 

[Justice101]

I assume this all got sorted out. I flew on a max last week, though I didn't realize until we were getting off. then on my layover, i was looking and was amazed at the number of 737 max planes.

It is a great plane. The problem was that experienced pilots knew how to correct and override the trim system but both pilots that crashed were from developing countries where the training and talent level is just not as good as in the USA and Europe. Also, Boeing did not mention the system in retraining other than what to do if the AoA trim goes out of control.

Boeing blew this one big time. You have to have an airplane that ALL LEVELS of pilots can correct.

I have no hesitancy flying a 737 MAX.

 

[Justice101]

I’m glad that the problem with the Max plane software thankfully appears to have been addressed but I’m still not flying any airline that has them.

I think they also added a redundant AoA sensor... since the old system on the MAX on a super critical oddity of the design, only had one sensor...rested heavily on a correct AoA. When that one sensor gave a false reading, it controlled the trim up and down correction and duration.