Ethiopian Airlines crash: Boeing faces safety questions over 737 Max 8 jets

[Scot Dutchy]

Off-duty pilot saved Lion Air Boeing 737 Max the day before crash

An off-duty pilot onboard a Lion Air flight saved a Boeing 737 Max jet from catastrophe the day before the October 2018 crash that killed 189, it has emerged.

The ongoing investigation into the Lion Air incident, when a Boeing 737 Max plane crashed into the Java Sea just minutes after take-off from Jakarta on 29 October, showed that the malfunctioning jet was saved from disaster by a third pilot who was riding in the cockpit the day before.

As the crew struggled to control the diving Max 8 aircraft, which was flying from Bali to Jakarta, the pilot diagnosed the problem and instructed them on how to disable the flight control system, sources told Bloomberg.

Just a day later, the same problem emerged onboard the Lion Air aircraft, which quickly lost control and crashed shortly after leaving Jakarta for the city of Pangkal Pinang, just north of Sumatra.

It makes me wonder.

[JimC]

If saving a plane requires a pilot to disable a flight control system, then it's a pretty fucked-up plane...

[Tero]

[Scot Dutchy]

If saving a plane requires a pilot to disable a flight control system, then it's a pretty fucked-up plane...

Rule 1: Turn everything off before flying.

That will get you far.

[Svartalf]

If saving a plane requires a pilot to disable a flight control system, then it's a pretty fucked-up plane...

nobody said it wasn't. Boeing seems to have lost the touch ... I mean, the very notion of a faulty automatic pilot not even able to correctly maintain altitude and straight flight is ridiculous given how long we've had such systems working efficiently... yet, not only they seem to come up with such, they even put them on their star model, at the expense of all safety... I know Boeing is too big to fail, but for that kind of scummy doings, it should be held responsible... and for mass homicide, the penalty should be dissolution of the company, assets to be sold off an used to recompense victims (I have no fear for the stockholders, either they are canny and had stock in other companies, or they are guilty of criminal negligence for financing such a company).

[Scot Dutchy]

Yep but mind you with Trump's backing they cant go wrong.

[Svartalf]

well, one corrupt entity aiding another? is that supposed to be a surprise?

[Scot Dutchy]

no

[Seabass]

Sully breaks it down.

Capt. Sullenberger on the FAA and Boeing: ‘Our credibility as leaders in aviation is being damaged’
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/capt- ... 2019-03-19

For too many years, the FAA has not been provided budgets sufficient to ensure appropriate oversight of a rapidly growing global aviation industry. Staffing has not been adequate for FAA employees to oversee much of the critically important work of validating and approving aircraft certification. Instead, much of the work has been outsourced by designating aircraft manufacturer employees to do the work on behalf of the FAA. This, of course, has created inherent conflicts of interest, when employees working for the company whose products must be certified to meet safety standards are the ones doing much of the work of certifying them. There simply are not nearly enough FAA employees to do this important work in-house.

To make matters worse, there is too cozy a relationship between the industry and the regulators. And in too many cases, FAA employees who rightly called for stricter compliance with safety standards and more rigorous design choices have been overruled by FAA management, often under corporate or political pressure.

Let me be clear, without effective leadership and support from political leaders in the administration, the FAA does not have sufficient independence to be able to do its job, which is to keep air travelers and crews safe. Oversight must mean accountability, or it means nothing.

Boeing, in developing the 737 Max 8, obviously felt intense competitive pressure to get the new aircraft to market as quickly as possible. When flight testing revealed an issue with meeting the certification standards, they developed a fix, Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), but did not tell airline pilots about it. In mitigating one risk, they seem to have created another, greater risk.

After the crash of Lion Air 610 last October, it was apparent that this new risk needed to be effectively addressed. It has been reported that Boeing pushed back in discussions with the FAA about the extent of changes that would be required, and after the second crash, of Ethiopian 302, the Boeing CEO reached out to the U.S. President to try to keep the 737 Max 8 from being grounded in the U.S. The new fix still has not been fielded, nearly five months after Lion Air. It almost certainly could have been done sooner, and should have been.

[Scot Dutchy]

In other words which have been confirmed already, Boeing treated its customers like mushrooms.

[Scot Dutchy]

The cesspit is opening. Just how far is Boeing tied into the American government?

Patrick Shanahan: Pentagon chief's ties to Boeing investigated

he Pentagon has launched an inquiry into acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan for alleged favouritism to his ex-employer, Boeing.

The Defence Department's inspector general will look into the matter following a complaint from a watchdog group.

Mr Shanahan is accused of frequently praising Boeing in meetings about government contracts and acquisitions.

Mr Shanahan, who denies any wrongdoing, spent 30 years at Boeing.

He rose through the ranks to become a senior executive at the world's biggest planemaker.

Last week Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Pentagon inspector general about Mr Shanahan.

[Scot Dutchy]

Safety features sold as extras!

Doomed Jets Lacked 2 Safety Features That Boeing Sold as Extras

As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits.

One reason: Boeing charged extra for them.

For Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers, the practice of charging to upgrade a standard plane can be lucrative. Top airlines around the world must pay handsomely to have the jets they order fitted with customized add-ons.

Sometimes these optional features involve aesthetics or comfort, like premium seating, fancy lighting or extra bathrooms. But other features involve communication, navigation or safety systems, and are more fundamental to the plane’s operations.

Many airlines, especially low-cost carriers like Indonesia’s Lion Air, have opted not to buy them — and regulators don’t require them.

Now, in the wake of the two deadly crashes involving the same jet model, Boeing will make one of those safety features standard as part of a fix to get the planes in the air again.

FFS

[Sean Hayden]

That's just life. --got money, drive a safer car, live in a safer neighborhood, go to safer schools, have safer jobs, fly safer planes.

[BarnettNewman]

Maybe passengers should be informed of this “reality.”

[Scot Dutchy]

Maybe it should written on the side of the plane:
"Due to corrupt suppliers and stingy owners this plane is not fully equipped with all safety features".