Four seconds to respond? Faulty assumptions led to 737 disasters
The flight-control feature implicated in two fatal crashes on Boeing’s 737 Max was built on a foundation of false assumptions. Boeing underestimated its risks, didn’t consider how changes to the system would heighten the danger, and kept some of the government regulators overseeing the plane’s design in the dark, a report by Indonesian investigators concluded. The most comprehensive review to date of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System also found that the US FAA delegated too much authority to Boeing for its approval. The designers and the regulators also used unrealistic assumptions about how pilots would behave, the report concluded, giving them just four seconds to diagnose and react when the unfamiliar system fired, for example. Moreover, the investigators said, current regulations don’t require the potential for human failure to be considered as manufacturers calculate the probability of an aircraft system failure. “The aircraft design should not have allowed this situation," Indonesia’s NTSB said in a sweeping 322-page report released Friday. The NTSC issued its conclusions and 25 recommendations to local regulators, the airline, Boeing and the FAA, almost one year after a Lion Air 737 Max dove at high speed into the Java Sea, minutes after takeoff from Jakarta on Oct. 29, prompted by a malfunction with MCAS that repeatedly commanded the plane to dive. Separately, Ethiopian authorities are preparing a report on a March 10 crash near Addis Ababa of a 737 Max. “We are addressing the KNKT’s safety recommendations, and taking actions to enhance the safety of the 737 MAX to prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again," said Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, using the Indonesian initials for the investigative agency. “Safety is an enduring value for everyone at Boeing and the safety of the flying public, our customers, and the crews aboard our airplanes is always our top priority." Story has full details.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-10-28/general/four-seconds-to-respond-faulty-assumptions-led-to-737-disasters
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Four seconds to respond? Faulty assumptions led to 737 disasters
The flight-control feature implicated in two fatal crashes on Boeing’s 737 Max was built on a foundation of false assumptions. Boeing underestimated its risks, didn’t consider how changes to the system would heighten the danger, and kept some of the government regulators overseeing the plane’s design in the dark, a report by Indonesian investigators concluded. The most comprehensive review to date of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System also found that the US FAA delegated too much authority to Boeing for its approval. The designers and the regulators also used unrealistic assumptions about how pilots would behave, the report concluded, giving them just four seconds to diagnose and react when the unfamiliar system fired, for example. Moreover, the investigators said, current regulations don’t require the potential for human failure to be considered as manufacturers calculate the probability of an aircraft system failure. “The aircraft design should not have allowed this situation," Indonesia’s NTSB said in a sweeping 322-page report released Friday. The NTSC issued its conclusions and 25 recommendations to local regulators, the airline, Boeing and the FAA, almost one year after a Lion Air 737 Max dove at high speed into the Java Sea, minutes after takeoff from Jakarta on Oct. 29, prompted by a malfunction with MCAS that repeatedly commanded the plane to dive. Separately, Ethiopian authorities are preparing a report on a March 10 crash near Addis Ababa of a 737 Max. “We are addressing the KNKT’s safety recommendations, and taking actions to enhance the safety of the 737 MAX to prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again," said Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, using the Indonesian initials for the investigative agency. “Safety is an enduring value for everyone at Boeing and the safety of the flying public, our customers, and the crews aboard our airplanes is always our top priority." Story has full details.<br/>
