The Seattle Times,
The Guardian, and
Bloomberg are all reporting that the Federal Aviation Administration has discovered in simulator tests that data processing by a flight computer on the jetliner could cause the plane to dive in a way that pilots had difficulty recovering from. This new safety risk is unrelated to two fatal crashes that led to the grounding of the aircraft, and the FAA has ordered the company to make additional design changes.
It is not yet clear if the issue can be addressed with a software upgrade or will require a more complex hardware fix. The new issue means Boeing will not conduct a certification test flight until 8 July at the earliest, the sources said, and the FAA will spend at least two to three weeks reviewing the results before deciding whether to return the plane to service.
Reuters is also reporting that an FAA test pilot during a simulator test last week was running scenarios seeking to intentionally activate the MCAS stall-prevention system, and during one activation it took an extended period to recover the stabilizer trim system that is used to control the aircraft. A Boeing spokesman said the company agreed with the FAA finding and was addressing the issue as well as a broader software redesign that’s been underway for eight months.
Just as MCAS uses a motor to move a small wing at the tail of the plane to lower the nose, the latest issue could prompt that same wing to move without pilot commands. The tail wing is known as a horizontal stabilizer. and the motor adjusts up and down movements known as trim. Examining how trim failures occur has been a central part of safety reviews of the plane because it was central to the accidents.
The above summary consists of selected and edited excerpts from both
The Guardian and
The Seattle Times, which credits the original source to
Bloomberg.
Comment: It's very interesting that it took an FAA pilot to discover this new issue. One would have hoped that Boeing, having learned from all of this, would have found this problem themselves. No such luck. Business as usual: quick and dirty is the word.
Comments
Boeing Outsourced Its 737 MAX Software To $9-Per-Hour Engineers
Https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/boeings-737-max-software-outsourced-to-249-an-hour-engineers/ar-AADzCXz
- Did hear that American Airlines has just put in a big order for the A320 Neo (within the past month).
- Boeing top brass has suggested openly in recent weeks (I think at the Paris Air Show) that they are considering a new name for the troubled plane.
- Despite the most recent airworthiness issue to surface, the 737 has had a marvelous safety and reliability stint for at least the past 2 decades. Perhaps they will find that some past accidents of undetermined cause were attributable to the newly discovered horizontal stabilizer issue - but I doubt it.
- This latest problem with the tail assembly does harken back, however, to a very serious issue that caused at least 2 fatal crashes for the 737 in the U.S. back in the early 90s. That was, as you may recall, the “uncommanded rudder deflection” issue in some of the newer 737 models. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737_rudder_issues
The rudder would, under some unknown circumstances, suddenly deflect hard right or left on its own. Even an airplane novice should be able to understand that that’s a bad scenario. I remember the roughest ride of my life ever on a Southwest 737 late at night from Chicago Midway to Detroit. Heavy storms had delayed departure and we barely got off the ground before our overworked flight crew would “time out” and be unable to fly. Anyhow - that was during the same period when the rudder deflection issue was being highlighted in the media. To me it felt as if the rudder was “deflecting” repeatedly all during the 45 minute flight. Needless to say, no snacks or cocktails were served that night.
@Gary- At $9/hr perhaps we should be curious about the qualifications of these supposed "Engineers".
Who owns Boeing? (Chances are you do.) https://stockzoa.com/ticker/ba/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/business/boeing-787-dreamliner-investigation.html
As to who owns BA, I know that it's a big position in TRP Inst Lg Cap Growth. I own the Homestead (HNASX) version of the fund. The fund is up about 11-12% YTD, trailing most funds of its ilk.
By coincidence, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Federal prosecutors have now also subpoenaed records related to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The WSJ article references a report by The Seattle Times as an information source. Neither paper specifies the basis for the subpoena, so it may have nothing to do with software development.
I think Boeing is looking at moving an ever increasing amount of manufacturing off shore when they get their off shore engineering up to speed. I think it could be Mexico India or Russia. Also looking for less regulation. Just my thoughts.