The 737 Max may be back, but Boeing is still trying to get back on course
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Boeing 737 MAX 7 airplane lands on an evaluation flight at Boeing Field Seattle (Washington), September 30, 2020.
Reuters| Reuters
One year ago BoeingThe 737 Max is in trouble returned to service — following the largest grounding in aviation history — there appears to be a broad consensus in the industry that the plane is as safe as any flying today.
“Would it be possible to get on the Max?” I’m often asked this question. In an interview on CNBC’s “The View,” John Cox, an aviation safety consultant and NBC News analyst, stated that he would take his family to a Max.American Greed.”
Much less clear, however, is whether, in its next generation of aircraft, Boeing can avoid the cascade of errors, shortcuts and management failures that led to 346 deaths in two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 — blamed in part on the plane’s flight control system.
It was a big reckoning that I had hoped for. They would bring in someone new and they would say, ‘No, we’re going to go back to being what we were — the best aerospace engineering company in the world and we’re not going to watch the daily stock price.’ “But that didn’t occur,” said Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), Chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Boeing has many forces that are vital to its success. investigators have linked to the crashes — including fierce competition with rival Airbus, as well as pressures to cut costs and speed up production — have only gotten more intense as the company tries to regain lost ground. Boeing has lost $20 billion due to the crisis, as well as a large share of the single-aisle, critical market dominated by Airbus A320.
Boeing will continue to operate the Max even after it returns. commercial airliner deliveriesAirbus was 2021 behind.
Boeing was founded in 2001. agreed to pay $2.5 billionIn a settlement agreement with the Justice Department, the company was fined for failing to disclose critical information regarding Max to regulators and the general public. DeFazio referred to the punishment as a “slap in the wrist” and condemned what he called a continuing “culture concealment” at Boeing.
The Chicago-based company stated that the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in Ethiopia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 resulted in fundamental reforms.
The statement stated that Boeing had made substantial changes to its company and the design of the 737 Max since the accident to prevent similar accidents from happening again.
Controllable
After revelations about an automated flight control system called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (or MCAS) that could fail, regulators around the globe banned the plane from flying in 2019. This was after the aircraft plunged into the water in two fatal accidents.
Boeing developed MCAS to quickly address stresses caused by the Max’s engine design. This could have led to the plane flying at an excessive angle or stalling. MCAS was meant to lower the nose to compensate. Boeing let the system be activated by one sensor, causing a string of disasters. And federal prosecutors alleged Boeing engineers withheld information about MCAS from regulators, so most pilots did not even know about the system — let alone how to deal with the potential malfunction — until after the first crash.
The FAA was approved after a review lasting 20 months that involved design and software updates, as well as improved training. agreedIn late 2020, the plane will be allowed to fly once again. They were returned to service by airlines around the globe last year. However, they are still grounded in certain countries including China.
Boeing said that “185” of the 195 countries have returned their jets to service in its December 2020 statement. This was with almost no incidents.
According to the statement, “About 30 airlines have operated the 737 MAX safely for more than 325,000 revenue flight hours and over 800,000.00 hours with schedule reliability higher than 99%.”
Cox, who is a veteran pilot and safety specialist in aviation, stated that there are many improvements.
He stated that it is unlikely an error or inadvertent MCAS activation would occur. However, pilots will have more training and tools should this happen.
Working in progress
Boeing is unlikely to experience similar catastrophes again in the future. Few people are prepared to doubt the company’s ability.
Richard Aboulafia a veteran analyst in the industry said that “the jury is out”. He, along with many others who track the company, traces problems with the 737 Max back to a lack of attention at Boeing for engineering which has been the company’s greatest strength.
Contrary to most other leaders of the company over the past 105 years, Aboulafia noted that Boeing CEO James Calhoun was not an engineer. Aboulafia acknowledged that the company had added engineers to its boards and managed ranks over the last year.
He stated, “That’s fine,” but “not enough to make the major changes we might have needed.”
Aboulafia indicated that he will examine the company’s next earnings reports, due to be available Wednesday morning to determine if Boeing has increased its research and development spending.
Boeing saidIts research and development cost for commercial aircrafts decreased by 29% in 2020.
What did they accomplish in 2021? They also expect to spend that same budget 2022. Is the real answer, “Yeah we’re going to be firing more engineers”? He replied. I would prefer that it did not have a negative figure in the second digits. At this point, it is preserving a possibility rather than pursuing hope.
Cox acknowledged that Boeing remains in transition after it was a company that emphasized engineering over financial concerns.
Are they capable? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. “I don’t think that we have sufficient information to do this,” he stated.
Cox explained that regulators as well as airlines are working to make changes after the 737 Max scandal. Pilot training and maintenance are being given a renewed focus. And the concept of certifying a derivative aircraft design — the 737 Max is based on a plane first flown in 1967 — is likely a thing of the past.
He said, “It was an historic event.” “The industry saw unprecedented economic change. It had an unmatched operational effect. It was unimaginable the impact that society had on the industry. Aviation will never forget the story of the 737 Max. This fundamentally altered the way we work, build and train in the aviation sector.”
See how the quest for corporate profits pulls an iconic American company way off course — with deadly results. A new episode of American Greed airs Wednesday, at 10:10 p.m. ET at CNBC
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