U.S. FAA proposes requiring key Boeing 737 MAX design changes

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it is proposing requiring four key Boeing 737 MAX design changes to address safety issues seen in two crashes that killed 346 people and led to the plane’s grounding in March 2019.

The agency is issuing a proposed airworthiness directive to require updated flight-control software, revised display-processing software to generate alerts, revising certain flight-crew operating procedures, and changing the routing of some wiring bundles.

The announcement is significant but there are still other major steps, including finalizing pilot-training procedures, that must be completed before the 737 MAX can resume flights. The public has 45 days to comment on the changes and it is still unclear if flights will resume before the end of 2020.

The FAA said in a separate 96-page report released on Monday that it “has preliminarily determined that Boeing’s proposed changes to the 737 MAX design, flightcrew procedures and maintenance procedures effectively mitigate the airplane-related safety issues” in the two fatal crashes. The airworthiness directive seeks to require Boeing changes.

-snip-

BUSINESS NEWS AUGUST 3, 2020 / 3:03 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
David Shepardson
3 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-737max/u-s-faa-proposes-requiring-key-boeing-737-max-design-changes-idUSKCN24Z2HK

[SansACause]

1. Who wants to fly on one first?

I can tell you I don't plan on ever flying on a 737 MAX. I'd pick another airline or change my flight.

[EX500rider]

2. I'd prefer it, it will be the most inspected/gone over plane ever. nt

[regnaD kciN]

3. Even in its previously-flawed condition...

...it still required massive f***-ups by crew and/or maintenance techs (including disregarding specific procedures in Boeing's official manuals) to cause those two crashes. The aircraft issues that, when combined with human incompetence, led to those tragedies have been addressed, insofar as any aircraft can be made foolproof. And, before the grounding, the MAX had logged tens of thousands of safe flights. Was it necessary to ground the aircraft to protect against "perfect storm" scenarios? Absolutely. But, even in the days just before the grounding, I would have had no hesitancy about flying on one of them if I knew it was from a reputable airline with a good maintenance and pilot-training record. The same would be even more true today.

[maxsolomon]

4. I already know people who have.

They work at Boeing.

You may want to read this NYT Magazine article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/magazine/boeing-737-max-crashes.html

[SeattleVet]

6. I'd gladly fly on one once they enter service again.

I remember the cluster of highly-publicized crashes shortly after the 727 first entered service in the mid-1960's. Something like 4 or 5 crashes in a few months, with 2 coming within a few days of each other. Newspaper headlines about the crashes led to calls for grounding these 'killer airplanes', and public sentiment was very strong against this aircraft at the time.

Those incidents were mainly a failure in pilot training - the new design had a redesigned wing that allowed takeoff and landing at much smaller airports, but the things that were the big differences that the public and press saw were that it had 'only' 3 engines, and the unusual (at the time) 'T'-tail. Pilots were insufficiently trained for the faster sink rate of the plane when landing, but public perception was this is was a dangerous design that should be grounded. The Civil Aeronautics Board resisted this. Boeing modified the manuals and training materials, and it's still in service, over 50 years later.

The plane went on to be one of the most used and trusted aircraft in the world - after some tweaks in training. Boeing got past the problem. Still, over its service life 119 of the 1,832 Boeing 727s built have been lost due to crashes, terrorist acts and other causes.

There was, more recently, a problem with batteries catching fire in the 787 Dreamliner. Problems were fixed, and that aircraft is also now seen as highly successful and trusted.

I can see the same happening once the 737-MAX series is fixed and returned to service. It will eventually be seen as a safe and highly efficient member of the Boeing family or airliners. The base 737 has been in service since shortly after the 727 problems surfaced - first flight in 1967, and first commercial flights with Lufthansa in 1968, so it has a very long history of service. Pilot training and the changes agreed on by the FAA and Boeing will put this modernized plane back into service as a solid workhorse of the airline industry.

[Sherman A1]

5. Hopefully that will include

A direct trip to the scrap yard.

[soryang]

7. Nothing to see here folks

Just pilot error. As long as top gun is flying your plane, you'll be fine.