I know they won't be punished for this but Boeing needs to be punished for attempting to pass a 737 Max 8 as not being fundamentally different to fly than a standard 737. They changed the engines and as a result had to implement software to avoid having to certify the 737 Max 8 as a new aircraft. They intentionally deceived the FAA but I guess that counts for nothing.
Not only changed the engines, but significantly altered the aerodynamics. Nice illustration of the difference here:
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I know they won't be punished for this but Boeing needs to be punished for attempting to pass a 737 Max 8 as not being fundamentally different to fly than a standard 737. They changed the engines and as a result had to implement software to avoid having to certify the 737 Max 8 as a new aircraft. They intentionally deceived the FAA but I guess that counts for nothing.
The 737 has various many engine changes on the 737 before the Max 8, the problem is the MAX 8 engines were simply too big for the 737's air frame, there wasn't enough room under the wing for the massive LEAP engine so they moved it forward and up partially over top of the wing so it would fit, this threw the handling of the aircraft out of sorts making it want to climb too much so they developed the MCAS software to level out the plane. I think they wish they just extended the landing gear.
Edit: here's a video explaining it all
EditX2 Scroopy Noopers beat me to it!
Last edited by Snuffleupagus; 10-30-2019 at 01:55 AM.
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I know they won't be punished for this but Boeing needs to be punished for attempting to pass a 737 Max 8 as not being fundamentally different to fly than a standard 737. They changed the engines and as a result had to implement software to avoid having to certify the 737 Max 8 as a new aircraft. They intentionally deceived the FAA but I guess that counts for nothing.
It’s not an excuse, but Boeing was under some pretty heavy pressure to have the Max certified as a common type to the NG.
Market share pressure should never be an option when lives are involved, in 2018 they were still the leaders by a lot in market share.
Some people at Boeing should be jailed for manslaughter
I'm not defending them nor am I saying it was right, just saying that their major 737 customer (Southwest) was pressuring Boeing heavily to have a common type rating for the Max and the NG's. I'm sure most every other airline that flies a mixed fleet was on board with this idea too. Saves a ton in training costs and maximizes scheduling flexibility.
Not sure what makes this any more relevant in 2023? While Boeing was wholly complicit in the lack of transparency in which MCAS existed and operated, so were both the Lion Air and Ethiopian crews in which they handled the runaway trim situations they faced. From all the information I have read on both crashes, including the official investigation reports, I stand by my belief that both airframes and all persons should have never been lost had proper procedures for runaway trim been followed and acute airmanship prevailed.
Boeing deserves all the punitive measures they faced because of their oversights with the MAX. That does not take away the fact the MAX is a really great aircraft in which Boeing continues to have a huge backlog of unfulfilled orders, they are opening a new 737 production line in Everett to keep up with demand. The flying public certainly has moved on from the notion the MAX is 'scary'.
