Boeing will need at least until September to address a new flight control computer issue and wrap up changes needed to get the fleet flying again. The issue came to light during engineering simulator tests with FAA test pilots during the week of June 17. During a runaway horizontal stabiliser troubleshooting procedure, FAA determined that line pilots would need more time to correctly diagnose the failure and execute the appropriate checklist. The tests also showed that a computer chip malfunction could lead to uncommanded stabiliser movement during the emergency procedure. FAA told Boeing to address the issues, and the manufacturer is complying. A Boeing executive said: “Our current assessment is we will submit our final certification package to the FAA in the September timeframe.” <br/>
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Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed records related to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, a person familiar with the matter said. The US Department of Justice, working in conjunction with the FBI and the DoT’s inspector general’s office, was already investigating how the 737 MAX aircraft was developed and certified, according to people familiar with the matter. The initial probe includes subpoenas issued to pilot unions, airlines and people involved in the 737 MAX’s development. Prosecutors have been looking into whether Boeing provided incomplete or misleading information about the plane to US air-safety regulators and customers. The demand for documents related to the 787 Dreamliner broadens the probe to include a wide-body aircraft manufactured in South Carolina. <br/>
It remains the mystery at the heart of Boeing’s 737 Max crisis: How a company renowned for meticulous design made seemingly basic software mistakes leading to a pair of deadly crashes. Long-time Boeing engineers say the effort was complicated by a push to outsource work to lower-paid contractors. The Max software was developed at a time Boeing was laying off experienced engineers and pressing suppliers to cut costs. Increasingly, the planemaker and its subcontractors have relied on temporary workers making as little as US$9 an hour to develop and test software, often from countries lacking a deep background in aerospace -- notably India. Sales are one reason to send the work overseas. In exchange for a $11b order in 2005 from Air India, Boeing promised to invest $1.7b in Indian companies. <br/>
Companies competing to build a successor to the Concorde may find that the biggest hurdle isn’t technology or economics, but the hefty carbon footprint that’s the result of such eye-watering speeds -- especially with electric airliners that may soon be within reach. Driven by mounting public and political concerns about aviation emissions, the new-found environmental zeal of manufacturers threatens to make start-ups intent on breaking the sound barrier look like relics from a greedier age that spared little thought for the environment. That’s despite advances in aerodynamic design, materials and propulsion. Those concerns were on display at last week’s Paris Air Show, where Boom Technology, which is working to introduce a 75-seat, Mach 2.2 jetliner, went out of its way to assert the plane’s green credentials. <br/>
More than a fifth of all European flights were delayed in May despite the introduction of measures aimed at preventing disruptions that wreaked havoc on travel during last year’s busy summer season. Monthly data from Eurocontrol show 22.1% of flights were delayed compared with 24.5% the same month last year. Flights over central and eastern Germany were among the most delayed. Strikes by traffic controllers and staff at airlines led to delays and cancellations during May and the summer months of 2018. Since then, airlines, airport operators and traffic control authorities have introduced a raft of measures to ease congestion aimed at preventing a repeat. These include allowing pilots to fly at lower altitudes to avoid particularly crowded areas. Yet the latest data indicates little improvement. <br/>