The airlines of 50 countries have stopped flying Boeing 737MAX. What is the United States still insi

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

The airlines of 50 countries have stopped flying Boeing 737MAX. What is the United States still insisting on?
New Beijing News 2019-03-13 16:54:46
https://www.toutiao.com/a6667796222121607687/

Data map. Figure / Visual China

Since the emergence of 157 people in the affliction, the list of Boeing 737MAX series models that have been grounded by countries and major airlines around the world has been "expanded every hour."

China, Australia, the European Union, India... As of March 13, according to media incomplete statistics, 43 countries and regions have completely suspended the aircraft, and at least one airline in 8 countries has suspended this. One type of operation.

To this day, Boeing is still swallowing up, delaying the release of the flight stop command and even painstakingly issued a statement saying that the control system will be modified to "make the safer model safer."

The US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), continued in the statement that "there has been no performance problem so far, and there is no reason for this type of aircraft to be grounded. The civil aviation departments of other countries have not provided us with reason to suspend navigation." evidence of". However, the FAA also requested Boeing to make changes to the software and control system of the 737MAX8/9 to prevent stalls and update the pilot training manual.

The attitude of Boeing and FAA is also surprising. The Boeing 737MAX series is a new model that has just been put into operation in May 2017 and is currently the most popular model of Boeing. In less than two years, 350 identical passenger aircraft have been performing flights. Boeing has more than 150,000 employees in the United States, and hot models are critical to the company.

Boeing stocks fell by as much as 12% on the opening of Wall Street on Monday, as the number of countries stopped “stopping”. It also fell by 5.36% at the close. As the civil aviation expert Balaqiao said, Boeing is facing a "deadlocked dilemma" - if the 737MAX series is stopped, the commercial cost is huge, and the consequences are difficult to predict.

As for the FAA, there are more considerations as government agencies, such as political influence, unemployment rate, and “the first in the US”. This is even linked to more complex and more difficult problems - the economist Meruzzo has revealed that the United States had hoped to promote China-US trade balance by forcing China to buy more Boeing 737MAX passenger aircraft. So of course, at the last moment, they certainly don't want to stop.

But the key issue is that passenger aircraft is not only satisfied with "data security," it is also a "trust vehicle." If passengers and the market lose trust in a certain type of aircraft, even if manufacturers and regulators try to deny it, it will not help.

Regardless of how to defend, the fact that the aircraft crashed in less than half a year is a fact that is not a problem for airlines, markets, passengers and crew members.

The 21 countries stopped flying 737MAX, and Boeing's share price hit its biggest decline in ten years. Video / Beijing News Our Video

In the past few days, passengers and crew members of many countries in the world have questioned that "the 737MAX has not been parked." "I bought the 737MAX flight." This is bound to put increasing pressure on the relevant national regulatory authorities and airlines. Not only that, but several large overseas households announced the suspension of the first time, which will undoubtedly produce huge demonstration and chain effect.

This uneasiness is still spreading and finally arrived in the United States: the Airline Personnel Alliance (APFA), an employee group representing American Airlines employees, has asked its members to "don't board the Boeing 737MAX series of passengers if you feel uneasy" .

Although the exact cause of the crash of the Egyptian Airlines Boeing 737MAX passenger aircraft has been investigated so far, this is not the reason for “no stopping” – just because “the cause of the accident is unknown”, people asked for “clear the cause”.

What's more, after two accidents, some technicians pointed out that the Boeing 737 "mixed and matched" the low-wing design and the powerful CFM LEAP-1B engine, which increased the difficulty of handling, caused greater head-up torque and increased the risk of stall. After that, the Boeing 737MAX added a fly-by-wire system, and specially designed a trimming system MCAS that allows the aircraft to automatically bow, but some hidden dangers are still there. Although the reason for this incident may not be here, it obviously needs Boeing to face it.

After all, for a kind of “trust vehicle”, those passengers and airlines “have to find out the reasons” are understandable. If Boeing and the FAA continue to "not let go", it is not difficult to foresee that the pressure they will face in the future will only grow larger and larger, and the uncertainty brought about by it will continue to increase.

□ Li Houhe (column writer)

Edit Meng Ran Proofreading
50国航司停飞波音737MAX，美国还在坚持什么？
新京报 2019-03-13 16:54:46

资料图。图/视觉中国

自导致157人罹难的埃航空难发生以来，全球各国、各大航空公司停飞波音737MAX系列机型的名单“每小时都在延长”。

中国、澳大利亚、欧盟、印度……截至3月13日发稿时，据媒体不完全统计，已有43个国家和地区全面停飞该机型，另有8个国家至少1家航空公司暂停了这一机型的运营。

时至今日，波音方面仍然吞吞吐吐，迟迟不愿下达停飞指令甚至煞费苦心地发布了一个文告，称将修改操纵系统“让本就很安全的机型更安全”。

而美国监管机构——联邦航空局（FAA）则在声明中继续表示“截至目前未发现存在性能问题，也没有理由让这型号飞机停飞，其它国家的民航部门也未向我们提供有理由停航的证据”。不过，FAA也同时要求波音公司对737MAX8/9型客机的软件和控制系统进行更改以防止失速，并更新飞行员培训手册。

波音和FAA的态度并令人意料。波音737MAX系列是2017年5月刚刚投入运营的新机型，也是目前波音公司最热销的机型。两年不到已有350架同型客机在执行航班任务。波音在全美雇员总数逾15万人，热销机型对公司而言至关重要。

由于各国相继“叫停”，波音股票当地时间周一在华尔街开盘瞬间跌幅高达12%，至收盘时也跌了5.36%。正如民航专家巴拉乔所言，波音正面临一个“死锁困局”——如果叫停737MAX系列则商业代价巨大，反之则后果难以预估。

至于FAA，作为政府机构考虑的则更多，诸如政治影响、失业率和“美国第一”等诸多问题。这甚至连着更复杂、更棘手的难题——经济学家梅鲁佐就曾披露，美国曾希望通过迫使中国购买更多波音737MAX系列客机促进中美贸易平衡。所以不到最后一刻，他们当然不希望叫停。

但关键问题在于，客机从来都不仅只满足于“数据安全”，它还是一种“信任交通工具”。如果乘客和市场对某种机型丧失了信任，即便制造商和监管机构竭力否认，也无济于事。

无论如何辩解，该机型在不到半年内坠毁两架是事实，对于航空公司、市场、乘客和机组成员而言，都是无法视若无睹的问题。

21国停禁飞737MAX，波音股价创十年最大跌幅。视频/新京报我们视频

连日来，世界上许多国家的乘客、机组人员纷纷质问“737MAX停航没有”“我买的别是737MAX航班吧”，这势必给相关国家监管部门和航空公司以越来越大的压力。不仅如此，几个海外大户在第一时间宣布停航，无疑也会产生巨大的示范和连锁效应。

如今这种不安还在蔓延，并终于抵达美国本土：代表美国航空公司员工的雇员团体——航空公司人事联盟（APFA），已要求其成员“如果感到不安就不要登上波音737MAX系列客机执勤”。

虽然迄今为止，埃航波音737MAX客机坠毁的确切原因仍在调查，但这并非“不让叫停”的理由——正因为“事故原因不明”，人们才要求“把原因查清再说”。

更何况，在两次事故过后，有些技术人士指出，波音737将低翼设计、强劲的CFM LEAP-1B发动机“混搭”，增加了操纵难度，造成了更大的抬头力矩，增大了失速风险，之后波音737MAX增加了电传操纵系统，并特别设计了可让飞机自动低头的配平系统MCAS，但有些隐患仍在。虽然此次事发原因未必就在于此，但这显然需要波音方面正视。

说到底，对于一种“信任交通工具”，那些乘客和航司们“把原因查清再说”要求无可厚非。如果波音和FAA继续“不松口”，那不难预见，它们在未来一段时间里面临的压力，只会越来越大，由此带来的不确定性也会不断增加。

□李厚何（专栏作家）

编辑 孟然 校对 危卓

https://www.toutiao.com/a6667796222121607687/

 

[JSCh]

March 12, 2019
Boeing, The FAA, And Why Two 737 MAX Planes Crashed

On Sunday an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing all on board. Five month earlier an Indonesian Lion Air jet crashed near Jakarta. All crew and passengers died. Both airplanes were Boeing 737-8 MAX. Both incidents happened shortly after take off.

Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are now grounded about everywhere except in the United States. That this move follows only now is sad. After the first crash it was already obvious that the plane is not safe to fly.

The Boeing 737 and the Airbus 320 types are single aisle planes with some 150 seats. Both are bread and butter planes sold by the hundreds with a good profit. In 2010 Airbus decided to offer its A-320 with a New Engine Option (NEO) which uses less fuel. To counter the Airbus move Boeing had to follow up. The 737 would also get new engines for a more efficient flight and longer range. The new engines on the 737 MAX are bigger and needed to be placed a bit different than on the older version. That again changed the flight characteristics of the plane by giving it a nose up attitude.

The new flight characteristic of the 737 MAX would have require a retraining of the pilots. But Boeing's marketing people had told their customers all along that the 737 MAX would not require extensive new training. Instead of expensive simulator training for the new type experienced 737 pilots would only have to read some documentation about the changes between the old and the new versions.

To make that viable Boeing's engineers had to use a little trick. They added a 'maneuver characteristics augmentation system' (MCAS) that pitches the nose of the plane down if a sensor detects a too high angle of attack (AoA) that might lead to a stall. That made the flight characteristic of the new 737 version similar to the old one.

But the engineers screwed up.

The 737 MAX has two flight control computers. Each is connected to only one of the two angle of attack sensors. During a flight only one of two computer runs the MCAS control. If it detects a too high angle of attack it trims the horizontal stabilizer down for some 10 seconds. It then waits for 5 seconds and reads the sensor again. If the sensor continues to show a too high angle of attack it again trims the stabilizer to pitch the plane's nose done.

MCSA is independent of the autopilot. It is even active in manual flight. There is a procedure to deactivate it but it takes some time.

One of the angle of attack sensors on the Indonesian flight was faulty. Unfortunately it was the one connected to the computer that ran the MCAS on that flight. Shortly after take off the sensor signaled a too high angle of attack even as the plane was flying in a normal climb. The MCAS engaged and put the planes nose down. The pilots reacted by disabling the autopilot and pulling the control stick back. The MCAS engaged again pitching the plane further down. The pilots again pulled the stick. This happened some 12 times in a row before the plane crashed into the sea.

To implement a security relevant automatism that depends on only one sensor is extremely bad design. To have a flight control automatism engaged even when the pilot flies manually is also a bad choice. But the real criminality was that Boeing hid the feature.

Neither the airlines that bought the planes nor the pilots who flew it were told about MCAS. They did not know that it exists. They were not aware of an automatic system that controlled the stabilizer even when the autopilot was off. They had no idea how it could be deactivated.

Nine days after the Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610 ended in a deadly crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive.

bigger​

The 737 MAX pilots were aghast. The APA pilot union sent a letter to its members:

“This is the first description you, as 737 pilots, have seen. It is not in the AA 737 Flight Manual Part 2, nor is there a description in the Boeing FCOM (flight crew operations manual),” says the letter from the pilots’ union safety committee. “Awareness is the key with all safety issues.”​

The Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed went down in a similar flight profile as the Indonesian plane. It is highly likely that MCAS is the cause of both incidents. While the pilots of the Ethiopian plane were aware of the MCAS system they might have had too little time to turn it off. The flight recorders have been recovered and will tell the full story.

Boeing has sold nearly 5,000 of the 737 MAX. So far some 340 have been delivered. Most of these are now grounded. Some family members of people who died on the Indonesian flight are suing Boeing. Others will follow. But Boeing is not the only one who is at fault.

The FAA certifies all new planes and their documentation. I was for some time marginally involved in Airbus certification issues. It is an extremely detailed process that has to be followed by the letter. Hundreds of people are full time engaged for years to certify a modern jet. Every tiny screw and even the smallest design details of the hardware and software have to be documented and certified.

How or why did the FAA agree to accept the 737 MAX with the badly designed MCAS? How could the FAA allow that MCAS was left out of the documentation? What steps were taken after the Indonesian flight crashed into the sea?

Up to now the FAA was a highly regarded certification agency. Other countries followed its judgment and accepted the certifications the FAA issued. That most of the world now grounded the 737 MAX while it still flies in the States is a sign that this view is changing. The FAA's certifications of Boeing airplanes are now in doubt.

Today Boeing's share price dropped some 7.5%. I doubt that it is enough to reflect the liability issues at hand. Every airline that now had to ground its planes will ask for compensation. More than 330 people died and their families deserve redress. Orders for 737 MAX will be canceled as passengers will avoid that type.

Boeing will fix the MCAS problem by using more sensors or by otherwise changing the procedures. But the bigger issue for the U.S. aircraft industry might be the damage done to the FAA's reputation. If the FAA is internationally seen as a lobbying agency for the U.S. airline industry it will no longer be trusted and the industry will suffer from it. It will have to run future certification processes through a jungle of foreign agencies.

Congress should take up the FAA issue and ask why it failed.


MoA - Boeing, The FAA, And Why Two 737 MAX Planes Crashed

 

[313ghazi]

The USA would risk an air crash, rather than the economic slow down bought about by grounding flights. I wonder how many flights are using this model. The model is also owned by Boeing - An American company; so they're probably lobbying the government.

 

[JSCh]

Ethiopian Airlines CEO: Pilot had 'flight control problems' - CNN

A recorded conversation with air traffic control detailed the final moments of the flight, CEO Tewolde GebreMariam told CNN's Richard Quest on Tuesday.

"He was having difficulties with the flight control of the airplane, so he asked to return back to base," GebreMariam said. He added that the pilot was granted permission to return to ground. That happened at the same time the flight disappeared from radar.

All 157 people aboard the Boeing (BA) 737 MAX 8 died when it crashed soon after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday. It was the second time in less than six months that a 737 MAX 8 was involved in a fatal incident, after a Lion Air flight from Indonesia went down in October.

GebreMariam said the Ethiopian Airlines pilots had received additional training on the flight procedures involving the 737 MAX 8 after the Lion Air crash.

"We believe the similarities are substantial" between the two crashes, GebreMariam said, adding that both incidents featured new models of the same airplane, and both flights lasted only minutes before the planes went down.

....​

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

According to the information I know, the problem is that Boeing has upgraded a new subsystem that was originally used to prevent the aircraft head from being over-lifted,but because Boeing has rushed the subsystem into use, the subsystem has fatal flaws. : This subsystem will cause Boeing's aircraft to suddenly dive down, the pilot's manual operation is useless at the same time,which would make the aircraft out of control.

Pilots of several US airlines have previously reported this situation, but were overshadowed by Boeing and the US FAA in order to protect the so-called reputation and company interests and profits of Boeing.

 

[onebyone]

good news for us

 

[Beast]

American help American. FAA is not fit to cert any commercial aircraft. Its more of a political tool. China shall ban FAA cert for commercial aircraft. It shall not be recognized.

 

[qwerrty]

the faa is in a shit position here. if they say the 737 max is craphola. that is admitting that they didn't do their job properly. the faa is fu<ked again if they let em continue and have one more accident. no way out

 

[JSCh]

According to people who claim to be from airline industry in Chinese social network, the reason that Chinese authority ground the 737-8Max with such haste is because there has already been multiple cases concerning the plane reported to CAAC.

Below is a weibo post from January 2019.

叫我不贰-
1月15日 09:47 来自 iPhone XS Max
最近有出行计划的老铁尽量避开737-Max8这个机型吧，近期国航乌鲁木齐-广州航线，出现空速不一致提示，风险较大。前些日子狮航坠机的7M8也是这个问题。

叫我不贰-
January 15th 09:47 from iPhone XS Max

Any buddies with recent travel plans pls try to avoid the 737-Max8 model. Recently, the Air China Urumqi-Guangzhou route showed inconsistent airspeed, which is a big risk. The 7M8 of the Lion Air that crashed has also the same problem.

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

Boeing has upgraded a new subsystem that was originally used to prevent the aircraft head from being over-lifted

The 737-Max8 is an upgrade of an existing platform. Since Airbus brought out the A-320NEO Boeing was afraid of losing the niche the 737 played in.

So Boeing brought out a redesigned fuel efficient engine. Only issue is that the engine, with a larger diameter, (either has to be placed close to the fuselage) to be placed tilted forward from where the original engines the plane was designed around were. Because of this the plane automatically tilts upward.

What the MBAs from Wharton and Harvard didnt realize is there's a give and take with aerodynamics. The entire structure became flawed. So they rolled out a MCAS that would automatically correct the altitude. And being the ever so genius MBAs rather than investing the software to interact with multiple existing safety instruments they kept it limited to 1 sensor.

To add to this, the Boeing MBAs decided to not inform the airline industry of this new instrument. Because it would cause Airlines to have to put their pilots into training and have them certify for the planes. Which is an added cost to buy the plane.

tldr:

Boeing decided rather than investing $20Billion to design a new plane, $1.5Billion was enough to keep it's market share.

All Max 8 flights the plane automatically tilts down to correct for the upward angle the engines cause. The majority of pilots weren't aware of this system.




EDIT:

The new engine is bigger than the prior ones. So Boeing also decided not to redesign the plane to allow for more landing gear to raise the plane for a better clearance for the engines. Which apparently is the reason the engines are placed forward than prior ones.

 

[oprih]

Trump: we're going to win so much, you're going to be sick and tired of winning.

 

[JSCh]

Black Boxes of Ethiopian Boeing 737 MAX to Be Analysed in France - Sputnik International

 

[Feng Leng]

Where is the C919?

 

[8888888888888]

Trump ordered all 737 Max to stay on the ground in the USA.

 

[Edison Chen]

Now it's the best chance to market C919...