New Boeing 737 Max safety issue will keep planes grounded for longer

[midian182]

Why it matters: Boeing’s grounded 737 Max jets are going to take even longer to get back in the air after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) discovered a new potential safety risk.

The aircraft were grounded following two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that saw a total of 346 people lose their lives. Both incidents are believed to have been caused by the 737 Max’s new Manoeuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), an anti-stall measure. Following the March crash, the 737 Max was grounded worldwide while it awaited a software fix and approval from aviation authorities to restart flights. The situation has forced Boeing to use its employee car parks to store some of the jetliners.

During a simulator test last week, the FAA identified another, unrelated safety flaw, which the regulator said Boeing “must mitigate.” While it didn’t elaborate on the problem—it could be a software or hardware issue—Bloomberg’s sources say that “data processing by a flight computer on the jetliner could cause the plane to dive in a way that pilots had difficulty recovering from in simulator tests.”

The FAA last month said that the 737 Max jets could receive approval to fly again as soon as late June. But the newly discovered issue means Boeing will not conduct a certification test flight until July 8 at the earliest, after which the FAA will spend at least two to three weeks examining the results before deciding whether the planes can return to service.

“On the most recent issue, the FAA’s process is designed to discover and highlight potential risks. The FAA recently found a potential risk that Boeing must mitigate,” the FAA said in the statement emailed to Reuters. “The FAA will lift the aircraft’s prohibition order when we deem it is safe to do so.”

Boeing said it was “working closely with the FAA to safely return the MAX to service” when asked about the new issue.

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines already canceled flights up until early September due to the grounding. Yesterday, United Airlines said it would not use the 737 Max until September 3.

Image credit: John Patota via Shutterstock

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/80696-new-boeing-737-max-safety-issue-keep-planes.html

 

[Uncle Al]

The penalty for sloppy design and construction has come home to roost!

 

[QuantumPhysics]

If it's BOEING - I ain't GOING.

I am the type of person who purposefully shops for specific planes when I fly internationally.

My favorite is the Airbus A380-800. It's far better, quieter and better equipped than the 747-400, but obviously, America pushes Boeing on everyone else.

I purposefully avoid Boeing.


I would rather be on an A350 than a Boeing 737. My upcoming flight to Philippines Airlines is an A350-900.

 

[trparky]

I was on a Boeing 777 with Delta Airlines, I liked that plane.

 

[Vulcanproject]

I was on a Boeing 777 with Delta Airlines, I liked that plane.

Delta have one of the oldest fleets in the world. A modern 777 like the 300ER is a nice plane for long distance. I have been on the odd Dreamliner now however and it's quieter and more comfortable than anything else currently around.

At the moment the short journeys I undertook the past few months have all been on very young Airbus A321 neo and I'm pretty happy about it...

 

[netman]

It's a hardware issue which subsequently require a software modification! Boeing may not be able to send the planes back in sky for a long time! Possibly until next year sometimes...

 

[nismo91]

If it's BOEING - I ain't GOING.

I am the type of person who purposefully shops for specific planes when I fly internationally.

My favorite is the Airbus A380-800. It's far better, quieter and better equipped than the 747-400, but obviously, America pushes Boeing on everyone else.

I purposefully avoid Boeing.


I would rather be on an A350 than a Boeing 737. My upcoming flight to Philippines Airlines is an A350-900.

for us peasants that always travel in economy: all hail A380!

I had SQ A380 and B777 for my last trip. I love the window seat of a A380. while you can't lean onto the window, as it's a good 4 inches away, but you have much more breathing room then. returning flight was underwhelming in a B777. next time I'd choose!

 

[GeforcerFX]

\


I would rather be on an A350 than a Boeing 737. My upcoming flight to Philippines Airlines is an A350-900.

If your choices on a route are a 737 or a a350 someone isn't doing there job right or your getting a unique opportunity (reposition flight)




I would happily fly on one of these again, by the time it gets back into the skies it will have gone through a more rigorous safety testing criteria then prob anything else flying.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

for us peasants that always travel in economy: all hail A380!

I had SQ A380 and B777 for my last trip. I love the window seat of a A380. while you can't lean onto the window, as it's a good 4 inches away, but you have much more breathing room then. returning flight was underwhelming in a B777. next time I'd choose!

The A380's design is just remarkable. If you're an average sized person, it's perfect. Some people don't want to be pressed against the window by the next two seated passengers.

there is nothing that makes me more livid than going from A380 to a 767 or 777.

On my recent flight to South Korea and Manila I had an A380 and a less full 747. That wasn't so bad, but the 747 was less luxurious.

On my flight from JFK to Dubai (Emirates A380) to Seychelles...the flight to Seychelles was a 767. Nowhere near as comfortable as the 747 or the A380.