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Author Topic: FBI joins Boeing 737 MAX 8 investigation as new questions about pilot training  (Read 3232 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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https://abc7ny.com/fbi-joins-boeing-737-max-8-investigation-as-new-questions-about-pilot-training-emerge/5208391/

Thursday, March 21st, 2019 3:30AM
The FBI is joining a criminal investigation to look into the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, as new details from last year's Lion Air crash raise questions about pilot training on the now-sidelined plane.

Sources familiar with the matter said the FBI is working with other federal authorities to look into the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX. It is unclear how much of a role the FBI -- and federal prosecutors from the Justice Department -- will actually have in this effort, as the investigation is in its earlier stages.

Meanwhile, more details emerged on Wednesday about last year's Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash in Indonesia, further exposing what experts say was a lack of pilot training on the plane's suspect flight management system as the delay continued in releasing critical information about what might have caused a second deadly crash 11 days ago in Ethiopia.

The pilots aboard the Lion Air plane that crashed in October struggled with their quick reference handbook, a checklist for abnormal events, and eventually ran out of time before crashing into the ocean minutes later, individuals with knowledge of the cockpit voice recorder told ABC News Chief Transportation Correspondent David Kerley.

And the day before that crash, a similar situation unfolded on the same plane but was narrowly avoided with the help of an off-duty Lion Air pilot riding in the cockpit jump seat, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The off-duty pilot told the captain and co-pilot how to disable the malfunctioning flight management system that was causing the plane to nosedive, according to Bloomberg. The next day, the same problem happened -- but this time the pilots on board did not disable the system -- and the aircraft crashed into the ocean off of Indonesia, killing all 189 on board.

On March 10, five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed right after takeoff near the country's capital of Addis Ababa. Though the flight data and cockpit voice recorders containing critical information were found one day later, families of victims have waited nearly two weeks without getting conclusive information about what was on the recorders or many details on similarities between the crashes.

The black boxes were analyzed in France last week and returned to Ethiopia. Ethiopia's top aviation official told the Wall Street Journal that a preliminary report, with data from the black boxes could be released in a week to eight days.

As questions continued about similarities, nearly a full week had passed since the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was banned from flying worldwide. It's predicted the plane will be grounded for weeks.

And in the wake of the crashes and questions raised about the FAA's certification of the plane, aviation officials from both the European Union and Canada have distanced themselves from the U.S. agency, which they used to trust and rely on in plane safety matters. Canada and the EU say they will conduct their own reviews of the software fix Boeing is making in the plane's flight management system software before allowing the plane back in the skies, even if the FAA certifies the aircraft as safe.



Offline KB4TEZ

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/doomed-jets-lacked-2-key-safety-features-that-boeing-sold-as-extras/ar-BBV2Adb?li=BBnb7Kz

Many airlines, especially low-cost carriers like Indonesia’s Lion Air, have opted not to buy them — and regulators don’t require them.
Now, in the wake of the two deadly crashes involving the same jet model, Boeing will make one of those safety features standard as part of a fix to get the planes in the air again.

It is not yet known what caused the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10 and Lion Air Flight 610 five months earlier, both after erratic takeoffs. But investigators are looking at whether a new software system added to avoid stalls in Boeing’s 737 Max series may have been partly to blame. Faulty data from sensors on the Lion Air plane may have caused the system, known as MCAS, to malfunction, authorities investigating that crash suspect.

That software system takes readings from two vanelike devices called angle of attack sensors that determine how much the plane’s nose is pointing up or down relative to oncoming air. When MCAS detects that the plane is pointing up at a dangerous angle, it can automatically push down the nose of the plane in an effort to prevent the plane from stalling.

Boeing’s optional safety features, in part, could have helped the pilots detect any erroneous readings. One of the optional upgrades, the angle of attack indicator, displays the readings of the two sensors. The other, called a disagree light, is activated if those sensors are at odds with one another.

Boeing will soon update the MCAS software, and will also make the disagree light standard on all new 737 Max planes, according to a person familiar with the changes, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they have not been made public. The angle of attack indicator will remain an option that airlines can buy.

Offline tyketto

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Boeing will soon update the MCAS software, and will also make the disagree light standard on all new 737 Max planes according to a person familiar with the changes, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they have not been made public.

For the light change, Boeing needs to offer refit at no cost to the airlines that have any of the MAX aircrafts in their fleet. Reasoning is below.

Quote
The angle of attack indicator will remain an option that airlines can buy.

Crappy move here. If this were something that could have helped to prevent LNI610 and ETH302, Boeing should make the airlines dip into their pockets again for an option. This should be standard as well. This is now starting to sound like what NKS and RYR do with their a la carte options to their fares.

Very crappy move here.

BL.