MAX crashes strengthen resolve of Boeing to automate flight

Boeing is increasingly committed to transferring more control of aircraft from pilots to computers after 2 crashes exposed flaws in an automated system on its 737 MAX that overpowered aviators in the disasters. Executives at Boeing and other makers of planes and cockpit-automation systems for some time have believed more-sophisticated systems are necessary to serve as backstops for pilots, help them assimilate information and, in some cases, provide immediate responses to imminent hazards. Now, such changes also seek to address the fact that average pilots may not react to problems—including those tied to automation—as quickly or proficiently as designers traditionally assumed, according to former and current Boeing officials and industry executives. <br/>