JASON REDMONDGetty Images
- With its preliminary findings, the FAA has given the 737MAX a checklist to fly again.
- The FAA says Boeing's software changes and other design changes are acceptable if instituted and inspected fully.
- There's still a long way to go, beginning with a final report and a public comment period.
After two terrible crashes, a year-plus grounding, and preliminary flight tests, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a list of changes it will require before the troubled Boeing 737 MAX can hope to fly the friendly skies again.
Boeing grounded the 737 MAX when its complicated software failed in similar ways on two flights in 2018 and 2019 that crashed and killed a combined nearly 350 people. The question of recertifying the 737 MAX has been debated on multiple parameters, like whether the plane’s outdated computers can handle the software Boeing has packed in to try to solve this problem. Anything the FAA formally decides will be open to public review.
Read best-in-class aviation stories and get unlimited access to Pop Mech.
In the preliminary findings released August 3, the FAA explains some of the details in the report’s background. From the report:
“This thorough review has taken more than 18 months and included the full-time work of more than 40 engineers, inspectors, pilots, and technical support staff. The effort represents more than 60,000 FAA hours of review, certification testing, and evaluation of pertinent documents.”
During the examination period, FAA assessors focused on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, a controversial piece of flight control software that's largely to blame for the Boeing 737 MAX’s two high-fatality crashes.
“The FAA retained all compliance findings for its review of the certification plans for the MCAS design change and the 737 MAX Display System software design change,” the report asserts.
✈ The Next Steps
❏ Learn more about the bizarre hardware on the Boeing 737 MAX.
❏ Dive deeper into Pop Mech's best flight features.
❏ See how the coronavirus is ushering in the airports of the future.
After listing a dozen subfactors that contributed to both fatal crashes, the FAA says it believes Boeing’s action plan includes all contributing factors in those crashes and all the additional concerns the FAA has voiced.
“Through a thorough, transparent, and inclusive process, the FAA has preliminarily determined that Boeing’s proposed changes to the 737 MAX design, flightcrew procedures and maintenance procedures effectively mitigate the airplane-related safety issues that contributed to the Flight 610 and Flight 302 accidents.”
Dealing with defective or inadequate software, in this case the MCAS system, has a ripple effect. Think of a time when you’ve tried to use an older computer, and even simple software takes longer to run. This pushes back the time it takes to do your task, which pushes back the rest of the work relying on that task, and so on and so on.
Boeing has a plan for how to “correct” the software and design flaws in the airplane, but the FAA will also require training crews on an updated checklist procedure and overall “enhanced” training. If people working on a plane with “state-of-the-art” technology don’t fully understand what the technology is doing, they’re less empowered to speak up when they feel something is going wrong.
Boeing will have to update, inspect, and recertify each 737 MAX airplane, but that’s also not the end of the process. All operators have to undergo the updated training. Boeing also must make and distribute the materials that FAA inspectors need to ensure their fleet planes meet the requirements, so that anyone who works on a 737 MAX knows what to look for.
And that’s all just for the return to service in the U.S.—safety organizations in other countries have threatened not to honor the U.S. finding. We’ll see if other national safety audits follow this one.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
"Max" - Google News
August 07, 2020 at 03:01AM
https://ift.tt/3a6VsBM
The Troubled 737 MAX Can Fly Again ... If It Makes These Changes - Popular Mechanics
"Max" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YlVjXi
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "The Troubled 737 MAX Can Fly Again ... If It Makes These Changes - Popular Mechanics"
Post a Comment