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Originally Posted by Dilligas
What most are missing is the forest for the trees. Yes the MCAS pushed the planes into nose dive and crash.....however, the MCAS was installed to correct a major design flaw. Boeing was making and selling a lot of 737s, then as engines became bigger and stronger, instead of redesigning a different plane, they simply addeed the oversize engine to the basically current 737. Because of the weight of the engine, they had to shift the engine forward of the wings. That move allowed the plane to become unbalanced in flight, in which the nose began to rise to a point of possible stall. To conteract that rise, they installed MCAS and software to bring the nose back down. Boeing is a major important company to USA economy....however, by not notifying pilots of the MCAS and training them for it's malfunctioning, Boeing is responsible, and those who covered the problem should be prosecuted. The fact that the engineers determined the life of 737 Max could have 13 fatal crashes is meaningless without the additional information of 1) how many Maxs in service, 2) how many flight hours, 3) how often service is required, $) how does the 13/total Maxs compare to other models/crashes....etc. There are so many Maxs in service and production, the 13 becomes an insignificant fact. It is a published fact that commercial flying is safer than walking, driving, trains, or boats.
If Boeing rectified the Max problem with simply software....there is still a problem. If Boeing has revised the design of the engine mount and can retrofit existing planes, and FAA approves, then it would be safe.
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totally agree with first part of your comment - ALL of this was brought out in the 20/20 piece - and countless other public documents. The patchwork need by Boeing to NOT re-engineer the ENTIRE 737 airframe to take the new much larger, efficient, and powerful engines.
As for the '13', that was part of a detailed analysis by BOEING engineers and statisticians, as detailed in documents uncovered. Can't explain their math - but the result, based on the original MAX was 13 fatal crashes over the lifetime (NOT caused by any other issue other than the original design).
And as for your last point - it is a FACT that Boeing has "corrected" the problem with updated MCAS software, using BOTH attitude instruments as input rather than one, updated documention explaining MCAS, pilot training, and ability of the pilots to TURN MCAS OFF if it noses down. The MAX HARDWARE/engines et al are UNCHANGED. Call it patches, SW updates, documented operation and training... pray that it all comes together and works - for the sake of Boeing, MAX passengers, and the country.
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