737 MAX REDUX?

THE BRIEF

There are indications that the FAA is preparing to recertify the killer Boeing 737MAX aircraft. Would you fly on one of these if it’s unleashed on the travelling public? In total, 346 souls were lost on the flawed 737 MAX before regulators stepped in and grounded the jet. Weeks prior to this I had warned my readers not to fly the aircraft until there is an investigation that would clear this product as safe and we all know how that ended.

Two airlines in the States want to start flying this thing late December 2020. Both Southwest and American Airlines are heavily invested in the 737 Max. American recently announced that they would first fly just their staff around to help build confidence in the relaunched product.

The most highlighted area of concern has been centred on the widely publicised MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) and the role that it played in the fatal crashes. However, this does not even scratch the surface of the complex and numerous other errors that were involved, including the physical flaw in the design of the 737 MAX that led to the development of the software. Please read my investigative report MAX MADNESS for the full story.

The original software was later updated to a revised design allowing MCAS to trigger on the inputs of a single sensor instead of two. As Boeing and the FAA advanced the 737 MAX toward production, they limited the scrutiny and testing of the MCAS design. Then they agreed not to inform pilots about MCAS in manuals, even though Boeing’s safety analysis expected pilots to be the primary backstop in the event the system went haywire. When it did, the pilots were faced with numerous and erroneous aural, visual, and physical warnings all occurring at the same time. Only by very good luck did other crews facing the same issue survive what would certainly have been a fatal crash.

THE DEBRIEF

Following a thorough, transparent and inclusive process, the FAA determined that Boeing’s changes to the 737 MAX design, flight crew procedures and maintenance procedures effectively mitigate the airplane-related safety issues that contributed to Flight 610 and Flight 302 accidents. Mitigate doesn’t mean eliminate. In a nutshell, the MCAS system was updated to receive information from 2 sensors, had its authority reduced (so pilots can maintain control in any configuration), included some extra cross-reference computers capable of shutting down erroneous stabilizer commands from the FCCs, and have changed pilot training manuals. In addition, pilots will have to undergo simulator training which reviews the potential emergencies. The chances of entering the flight envelopes that may cause the aircraft to stall with passengers on board (and activate MCAS) are extremely unlikely.

Having said all that, the fundamental engineering flaw that caused the development of MCAS is still there. My advice remains unchanged. There are other aircraft (many actually) out there you can fly on. Have yourself, family, and friends use them. Boeing should have gone to the drawing board and designed a brand new aircraft. Instead, they chose to create this killer. That’s something that should not be forgotten along with the 346 passengers and crew that perished unnecessarily.