FAA clears Boeing 737 Max
after flight-control system fixed
Washington Times,
by
Shen Wu Tan
&
Dave Boyer
Original Article
Posted By: Pluperfect,
11/19/2020 4:45:42 AM
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared Boeing’s 737 Max for flight Wednesday, nearly two years after a pair of deadly crashes, marking a first step for the struggling aerospace giant toward recovering its reputation and profitability.
The air safety agency said it completed a “comprehensive and methodical” 20-month review before rescinding the longest grounding of a jetliner in U.S. history. The FAA said it made the decision in cooperation with regulators around the world, most of whom also plan to clear the Max for flight soon.
Airlines in the U.S. will be able to fly the Max again after Boeing updates key flight control software and computers on each plane,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 11/19/2020 6:42:18 AM (No. 610149)
I’ve got 4500 hours in Fighters and I’m never getting back on another airplane....
8 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Skinnydip 11/19/2020 7:29:40 AM (No. 610182)
It's gonna be a while before I take a flight in one of those.
6 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Strike3 11/19/2020 7:52:31 AM (No. 610199)
Great news! I hope there are still seats left on the first flight.
3 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Lucky5 11/19/2020 8:25:57 AM (No. 610241)
I want to avoid these planes.
1 person likes this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
MickTurn 11/19/2020 8:30:55 AM (No. 610253)
Hey Democrats...we have a free flight for you to Mars, first leg is on a Max Jet...
1 person likes this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Anti_democRAT 11/19/2020 8:56:41 AM (No. 610301)
2 years to fix flight software. Maybe the costliest code error in history. How long is it going to take to fix the election software/hardware debacle and will all people get behind the need to like they were on boeing.
3 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 11/19/2020 9:45:45 AM (No. 610365)
#7, it's really the cost of a company doing their Engineering in India.
6 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 11/19/2020 10:21:52 AM (No. 610409)
There was no insurmountable problem with the system. The accidents were caused by failed angle of attack (AOA) sensor giving false data to the flight system. The result was an automatic trim system 'running away', following false input data.
Some time in the 1930s large aircraft started having pitch trim systems with electric motors to run it, controlled by a switch. Like ANY electro-mechanical systems, sometimes the switch can fail in the 'ON' position. This has been known for 80 years or more by pilots as "runaway pitch trim", and is a standard training item. Disabling a runaway pitch trim is something that is trained for in any good airlines.
The 737 MAX has a conveniently located 'pitch trim disable' button on the console right near the throttles, easily accessible to the pilots.
If the pilot can tell that the problem is the pretty obvious "runaway pitch trim", (the symptom is the aircraft nosing down by itself) then push the 'pitch trim disable' button. Then the problem is OVER. Manual trim can be used to level the aircraft and conveniently complete the flight.
In one of the two accidents, a third pilot, riding in the jump seat, identified the issue, pushed the 'pitch trim disable' switch, and the aircraft flew normally. He overrode the faulty sensor (reported by previous flight pilots and NOT repaired by the third world airline mechanics, yet they cleared the aircraft for flight) and the problem was solved.
Much later in the flight, one of the pilots RE-ENGAGED the automatic pitch trim system (very, very stupid), and unsurprisingly, it did the same thing as before, it ran away again, since it had not been repaired.....they were on the same flight. This time, they let this malfunctioning system continue to run, and ultimately crash the aircraft, somehow not remembering what they had done a short time before to solve the exact same problem. This action is difficult to understand.
IMO, this is 100% on the incompetent, poorly trained 3rd world "pilots" and the incompetent, poorly trained 3rd world mechanics and maintenance organizations of these highly questionable "airlines". This is exactly why you should never fly on 3rd world airlines. When I traveled extensively in the former soviet states, there were a large number of small Russian and other former soviet state airlines which we were forbidden to fly on. I didn't argue at all, even when it meant a two day train ride instead of an afternoon flight....on an iffy airline.
The system on the 737 was not able to tolerate a failed angle of attack sensor without pilot intervention. It seems that aircraft designers can no longer assume competent pilots, so now the solution is a second or even third angle of attack sensor, and some 'voting logic' to isolate a failed sensor, something previously done by a well-trained pilot. A competent pilot would have no problem, but incompetent pilots crash the aircraft. This is "Boeing's fault" according to modern "logic", apparently.
I have discussed this with a current 737 pilot for a major US airline and he was quite dismissive of the issue. saying "I'd fly that aircraft tomorrow" back when this had been understood as a slight variation on "runaway pitch trim".
All that said....having your software written far away in foreign countries with language barriers is not conducive to the best possible software. And while dual AOA sensors were an option on the 737 MAX , the cheapo 3rd world airlines (of course) didn't get that version, when in reality, because of their bargain basement poor pilot training, they need it the most.
3 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
DVC 11/19/2020 10:24:20 AM (No. 610410)
Interesting, #2. Did you never have runaway pitch trim or at least hear of another pilot having it?
I agree with your comment on 3rd world airlines, and perhaps your view is also colored by the terrible search process that TSA puts us through as much as anything else.
0 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
ROLFNader 11/19/2020 10:43:01 AM (No. 610434)
Might be time for me to heed the advice of my Grandmother who, in her old age(90 and lived to be 101) when I asked her why she took the Greyhound bus rather than fly all over the country to visit her 11 kids and hundreds of grands and great-grands:
"If the good lord intended for you to get there that quickly, he would have started you out closer".
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 11/19/2020 11:15:17 AM (No. 610466)
Great news. Get them back in flight. My son flies airbuses and says these can behave the same way as the 737. It comes down to adequate pilot training.
1 person likes this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
coldoc 11/19/2020 11:16:56 AM (No. 610467)
OK, I know it's TV, but I enjoy air disasters for the followup investigations. Its amazing how many of the conclusions are "pilot error". I get the impression that many of the pilots in question overely on autopilot and how few actually manually fly anymore. Scary.
0 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 11/19/2020 5:02:05 PM (No. 610842)
Well, #9, that information was worth the 'price of admission' today! Thank you.
Personally, I always like to see my pilots with a lot of miles on them! :-)
0 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 11/19/2020 5:06:34 PM (No. 610843)
This always takes me back to Ernie Gann's (good friend of my father's) book titled Fate Is the Hunter.....terrific read! (If no time to read, catch Glenn Foird in the movie version.) #13, you'd love it.
0 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 11/19/2020 5:07:29 PM (No. 610845)
Ford, of course.
0 people like this.
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