Tag Archives: Boeing 737 MAX

Azerbaijan Airlines cancels its order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX jets

Azerbaijan Airlines has cancelled its order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX jets “due to safety reasons” according to Reuters.

All images by the airline.

New York Times: Boeing built deadly assumptions into 737 MAX, blind to a late design change

From the New York Times:

The NYT looks into a fatal flaw in the Boeing 737 MAX’s development that left test pilots, engineers and regulators in the dark when a change was made to the automated system without their knowledge.

Read the full article.

Boeing’s CEO apologizes for the two 737 MAX accidents

From CBS Evening News:

In an exclusive interview with incoming CBS EVENING NEWS anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg apologized to the families of those killed in the two crashes that left 346 dead and led to the grounding of all 737 Max jets.

He also acknowledged that the incidents had “damaged the public trust and the confidence in flying.”

The interview aired on May 29 on the CBS EVENING NEWS (6:30-7:00 PM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.

“We feel terrible about these accidents, and we apologize for what happened. We are sorry for the loss of lives in both accidents,” Muilenburg told O’Donnell. “We are sorry for the impact to the families and the loved ones that are behind, and that will never change, that will always be with us. I can tell you it affects me directly as a leader of this company. It’s very difficult.”

Muilenburg said the crashes have had the “biggest impact” on him in his 34 years at the company.

“We can’t change what has happened in these accidents, but we can be absolutely resolute in what we’re going to do on safety going forward,” Muilenburg said. “So I am sorry for that. We apologize to the families that have been affected. We apologize more broadly to the traveling public where confidence has been affected.”

Muilenburg told O’Donnell he would trust his own family in a 737 Max jet after testing new software in the wake of two deadly crashes that left 346 dead and led to the grounding of all 737 Max jets.

“You’d put your family on a 737 Max?” O’Donnell asked.

“Without any hesitation. Absolutely,” Muilenburg said.

“I do personally apologize to the families. We feel terrible about these accidents, and we apologize for what happened, we are sorry for the loss of lives in both accidents, and that will never change,” he said. “That will always be with us. I can tell you it affects me directly as a leader of this company, it’s very difficult.”

“Did you ever consider resigning?” O’Donnell asked.

“No. It’s important that I continue to lead the company, and the fact that lives depend on the work we do, whether it’s people flying on our commercial airplanes or military men and women around the world who use our defense products, that is a worthy mission,” he said.

Financial Times: Return to service of Boeing 737 Max could depend on pilot training

From the Financial Times:

Getting the grounded Boeing 737 MAX fleet back in the air is complicated. The main question arising now is how will the MAX pilots be trained (or retrained). If it is in the scarce MAX simulators, getting the type relaunched could take longer than first expected.

It is becoming more likely each day the MAX will be lost for most of the Northern Hemisphere summer season. Regulators and airlines are likely to again push back their schedules without the MAX.

Read the full report.

Meanwhile from Yahoo! News: FAA reputation has taken a hit from Boeing 737 MAX grounding: United executive

Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker. Parking all of the MAX aircraft is now spreading outside of the Puget Sound (Seattle and Everett) area to the San Antonio, TX area.

The Wall Street Journal: MAX’s return to flight delayed by FAA’s re-evaluation of safety procedures for older 737 models

From the Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ, the FAA review of The Boeing 737 MAX has expanded to older 737 models.

Read the full article.

Bloomberg: Boeing faces SEC investigation into its 737 MAX disclosures

From Bloomberg:

“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Boeing Co. properly disclosed issues tied to the grounded 737 Max jetliner, according to people familiar with the matter, as regulators intensify their scrutiny of the company following two deadly crashes.”

Read the full story.

ECA: Before Boeing’s MAX return to service: we need answers and transparency

ECA, representing the pilots of Europe, issued this statement:

Regulators from across the globe met on May 23 in Texas (USA), to discuss a possible return to service of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX. The FAA is currently reviewing Boeing’s proposed ‘software fix’ and is already looking ahead at taking the plane back to the sky.

For European pilots, having closely followed the developments and revelations in the past months, it is deeply disturbing that both the FAA and Boeing are considering a return to service, but failing to discuss the many challenging questions prompted by the MAX design philosophy. ln particular, how can a design and regulatory setup that originally failed by approving a flawed aeroplane’s entry into service, credibly provide the solution without significant reform? The European Aviation Safety Agency has a key role to play providing transparent, independent reassurance to pilots and Europe’s travellers.

“Boeing must bring in clarity about its design and also the philosophy that stands behind it” states Jon Horne, ECA President. “Apparently only one sensor was chosen to feed a critical system such as MCAS, rendering it highly vulnerable. No hands-on experience of this system – either working or failed – and only fitted in the first place to counteract unacceptable handling characteristics, was part of pilot training requirements. All this to enable the aircraft to be classified as a common type with previous 737s, avoiding costly ‘type-rating’ training for 737 pilots that switch to the MAX. Has the desire for a more marketable common type-rating been prioritised over a safer design of the aircraft itself? Are there any other systems where the same design logic has been applied? We don’t know. But it is us, the pilots, who do need to know if we are to fly our aircraft safely. Our list of open questions gets longer by the day. It is up to Boeing and the FAA to finally take responsibility and be transparent about this.”

Boeing statement on Federal Aviation Administration global regulators meeting

Boeing issued this statement:

We appreciate the FAA’s leadership in taking this important step in bringing global regulators together to share information and discuss the safe return to service of the 737 MAX. Our team, our airline customers, and regulators place the highest priority on the safety of the flying public. Once we have addressed the information requests from the FAA, we will be ready to schedule a certification test flight and submit final certification documentation.

CNBC: Southwest won’t charge passengers to change planes to avoid the Boeing 737 MAX

From CNBC:

Southwest Airlines won’t charge uneasy passengers to change flights to avoid traveling on the Boeing 737 Max if and when regulators allow the jet to take to the skies again, the airline’s chief marketing officer said Thursday.

The Irish Times: EASA’s demands on Boeing signal rift among regulators

From the Irish Times:

“Europe’s aviation safety agency has set out strict conditions before it will allow Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft back into the skies, in a sign of the depth of the rift emerging among global regulators after two deadly crashes.

EASA said it had three “pre-requisite conditions”, including demands that design changes by Boeing are approved by the European agency, before it would lift the grounding of the Max following the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia.”

Read the full story.