737-Max 8 safety concerns
 

I think I'd be nervous this morning if I was scheduled on a Max 8 or if I was a Boeing shareholder. A second Max 8 just crashed after takeoff in Ethiopia with eerily similar flight profile from the Lion Air Max 8 that crashed in Indonesia a couple months ago. I have a feeling the Boeing engineers in charge of the Max 8 design were called into work this morning for some crisis management. Will be interesting how the FAA responds. Will we see a full grounding? I know they made Boeing update the training manual after the Lion Air crash to go over how to recover when the plane tries to recover from a stall that is not really happening. If this is the same issue, then hopefully they can solve it with the flight software otherwise we could be looking at a re-design of the aircraft which would be disastrous for Boeing (and the airlines that are dependent on the Max 8). I think American and Southwest are the largest operators of the new type. Their pilot unions will probably have something to say also.

Not sure where this post should be so posted it here in Omni.

Someone who knows more will be able to tell me-

how different exactly is a 737 max from a 738?
seems to me it’s just a stretch and possibly upgrade some systems as opposed to a full redesign which you would think would decrease the possibility of major issues?

I was very happy to be flying on an Airbus 321 today...just sayin'....

Figures. I am flying one of those on AA today.

Since OMNI is for topics other than miles, points and travel, we’re moving this thread to a more appropriate forum.

___________________________
Cholula
OMNI Co-Moderator

My airline does operate them, as does my fiance's airline. None of the pilots there have expressed a concern, and if they felt uncomfortable flying them, they would not be shy about speaking up. I do think the MAX is safe, and as a pilot on Boeing equipment currently, have full faith in Boeing. Hope this helps a little....

Boeing should of killed off the 737 series after the NG's instead of doing these Frankenstein experiments on the original 737 design. They should've used a completely new design, but that would require them to spend money. Now we have the mess that is the MAX's.

All I can say is, Airbus is breathing a sigh of relief while Boeing is sweating.

Also reported here:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ch...ash-2019-03-10

Previous discussion here:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...-bulletin.html

MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), seemingly at the root of these two crashes, was necessary because the plane was inherently unbalanced when they put larger, more modern engines on a 50+ year old airframe design.

I think its a valid point to question whether it would have been better to just design an entirely new plane.

Statistically, I wouldn't be too concerned about flying on a Boeing Max-8 even if it does turn out to be an issue, as your odds are still probably better than crossing the street, or driving anywhere.

However, I would be very concerned if you have upcoming flights booked on airlines which operate these aircraft, as it seems quite likely that more civil aviation authorities will ground them, unless it becomes apparent quickly that the issue is not related to the Lion Air systems issues. Perhaps not in the USA because it's Boeing, but pretty well everywhere else.

Has this been reported or is it speculation? I haven't seen anything yet saying that they've found that MCAS played a role in the Ethiopian accident.

My take on this is that I just don't know whether the plane has a design flaw or not. I'm not an aeronautical engineer, pilot, or anything but a layman.

From that point of view though, seeing two major crashes on a new aircraft within months of each other make me think something's wrong. This is particularly true when you consider how rare it is nowadays to see loss of life accidents like this.

It's enough to want me to avoid the aircraft when I book. Why would I want to fly a MAX when when there are plenty of well tested 737s, 757s, and A320s in service?

However, that largely isn't a problem for me as I usually fly AS (who doesn't have any MAX's yet) and take occasional short haul connecting flights in Europe on operators who use A319/20/21s as their short-haul equipment. But if faced with it, I'll choose the older plane until the authorites demonstrate that the plane is safe.