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US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

bbc.com

41–50 of 344 posts

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#41
post #28

What I dont understand is why the airlines themselves (Southwest and American) are refusing to halt the planes - this seems totally irresponsible with what is known at this point.

It’s pretty safe to assume that at this point every fricking pilot out there knows about MCAS and how to deal with it if this specific problematic behavior occurs.

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#42

You are not allowed to bring more than 100ml of water because of safety concerns but we will fly you on on airplane model that has failed twice in 2 years of service.

I curse America everytime this inconveniences me, damn globalization of your silly rules..

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#43
post #20

From a customer perspective I would have appreciated a joint approach of the major aviation agencies. The way it is handled right now, I can’t judge whether the EU is reacting shortsighted or if the US is too careless. One seems to be true?

It's easier for the EU, they don't have many MAX planes. It's likely too early to say something definitive and in times of social medial pressure one conformes if possible.

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#45
Some points from personal experience from working at Boeing, family working at Boeing, and a close friend on the flight line for the 737-8;

- not everything is back from the Lion Air incident, but internally there was strong confidence that a lack of pilot familiarity with the adjusted mechanics of MCAS contributed to the disaster

- reproducing these failures has been extremely hard and has required a lot of cooperation with other airlines and agencies, and that has been difficult

- training for the 737-8 and -9 was just short of non existent because in practice, these planes don’t fly differently.

- since Lion Air, Boeing has been in somewhat of a “panic mode” but confidence isn’t that the airframe and engine mechanics are at fault

- Lion and Ethiopian Air are near the bottom when it comes to maintenance and follow up with Boeing

- as of this morning, it sounded like there are more uncertainties with this incident given that the pilot indicated troubles after take off, but I’m find it hard to back up that claim in what’s already been published

This isn’t about greed or the FAA being in the pocket of Boeing, it’s that there were already adjustments made to fix MCAS and the investigation from Ethiopia isn’t in yet.

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#46
post #13
post #2

What does the US know that the EU or China doesn't which gives them such confidence? Any clues?

Safety is always a priority, but it's never the only one: There's also an economical factor in the equation. Other nations have less to lose by grounding these planes, leading to a different result between 'risking human lives' vs 'causing financial impact'. Finally, airplanes may have different configurations. I only skimmed some discussions and I'm not well versed in the subject so take what I say with a grain of s…

These other nations are staffed by people just like you and I who understand why the US (as in the regulator, head of the executive branch, the states, and the discretion of the private companies involved) would be incapable of doing the same calculus.

They know of the incestuous relationship with the regulators and private industry and its history, just as much as a US citizen is aware of an irrelevant country's corruption and that country's chronic inability to reform it.

So they just make the call: ground it, the US can't, but they will do a comprehensive investigation. Let it play out.

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#47
post #32
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's based on data why not publishing it?

That's exactly the thing. There is no data to the contrary. You can't prove that the FAA is wrong, because we don't know why both planes crashed. We have assumptions, and there's a public perception - but it may not be correct.

> You can't prove that the FAA is wrong, because we don't know why both planes crashed.

From an outsider's perspective is the FAA's task to prove that both those crashes were unrelated to each other, because for a very safe industry like aviation a slight correlation (two almost identical planes crashed in a span of 6 months in clear-weather conditions) is often times seen as causation by most of the people directly involved: potential customers, the general public that helps pay the taxes that keep both Boeing and Airbus making airplanes etc.

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#48
post #6

I wonder pilots are feeling about it? It will cause a very big stink if one crashes in the US.

Pilots will do what the union (ALPA) does. So far I just see condolences. https://twitter.com/WeAreALPA (Edit: We can also see that another pilot union for AA is confident in the plane: https://www.alliedpilots.org/News/ID/6769/Allied-Pilots-Asso... )

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#49
Someone shared this on a different forums, it’s a recent NPR interview of a pilot for American Airlines.

https://overcast.fm/+nmn7rqq0/06:04

It’s a short interview but in short,

* Boeing left out info on the new flight control system in the pilots manual they trained with

* the training to fly the new planes was 56 minutes of PowerPoint presentations on an iPad

* he would not have known how to correct the system in the Lion Air crash had he have been the pilot

Re: US refuses to ground Boeing 737 Max

#50
Lots of jumping to conclusions going on in this thread, blaming the FAA, lobbyists, and politicians for being in the pocket of Boeing.

Nobody knows why this plane crashed. The flight recorders have just been recovered and so far there has been nothing in the news about what was on them.

The plane might be to blame. The airline or the pilots might be to blame, and by the way, that airline has a bad safety record. It might have been a bomb, or a fire caused by a passenger, or many other things.

The sudden rush to judgment on this case is unjustified by the evidence. If it turns out this was not Boeing's fault, a lot of people are going to have to eat their words, and millions of dollars will have been wasted for nothing.

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