Free Republic

Boeing limited the role of its own pilots in the final stages of developing the 737 MAX flight-control system implicated in two fatal crashes, departing from a longstanding practice of seeking their detailed input, people familiar with the matter said. As a result, Boeing test pilots and senior pilots involved in the MAX’s development didn’t receive detailed briefings about how fast or steeply the automated system known as MCAS could push down a plane’s nose, these people said. Nor were they informed that the system relied on a single sensor—rather than two—to verify the accuracy of incoming data about the...

Just when did the airlines know that they had to pay extra for a key warning system on the Boeing 737 Max? The Wall Street Journal reported last night that it wasn’t at the point of sale. Until a crash in Ethiopia last October, Southwest Airlines thought the system came standard with the platform — so much so that their operating manuals included them.Somehow, the news that the safety feature was an upgrade didn’t get mentioned to the FAA, either: Boeing Co. didn’t tell Southwest Airlines Co. and other carriers when they began flying its 737 MAX jets that...

Boeing announced Tuesday that deliveries for all of its 737 jets fell to 89 in the first quarter, a dip from 132 last year. (-32%) The plane maker halted deliveries of its 737 Max following the global grounding of the jets that were implicated in two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed a total of 346 people. Total orders fell to 95 aircraft in the first quarter, a drop from 180 a year earlier. There were no new 737 Max orders in March. (-47%) Boeing announced Friday that it’s cutting production by 20 percent as it tries to...

Faulty sensors on the Boeing Max jet led to the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March that spurred an international grounding of the fleet and launched numerous federal investigations by the U.S. government, the Chicago-based manufacturer said on Thursday. An initial report on the incident found that the aircraft -- a new version of Boeing’s popular 737 jet -- had a faulty “angle of attack” sensor, which tracks lift to prevent stalling, Boeing wrote in a statement. The erroneous input activated an autopilot system on the plane known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that automatically forces the plane’s nose...

Pilots at the controls of the Boeing Co. 737 MAX that crashed in March in Ethiopia initially followed emergency procedures laid out by the plane maker but still failed to recover control of the jet, according to people briefed on the probe’s preliminary findings. After turning off a flight-control system that was automatically pushing down the plane’s nose shortly after takeoff March 10, these people said, the crew couldn’t get the aircraft to climb and ended up turning it back on and relying on other steps before the final plunge killed all 157 people on board. The sequence of events,...

It’s horrible news, but with a silver lining for Boeing and the FAA. Investigators have determined that the stall-detection system at the heart of an earlier Boeing 737 Max jet crash late last year also activated in the Ethiopian Airlines crash earlier this month. No final conclusions have emerged in either investigation, but the news confirms suspicions that Boeing’s new MCAS system on the 737 Max platform played significant roles in both deadly crashes:

For most of the history of powered flight, the United States has been a world leader in aviation. But now, our credibility as leaders in aviation is being damaged. Boeing and the FAA have been found wanting in this ugly saga that began years ago but has come home to roost with two terrible fatal crashes, with no survivors, in less than five months, on a new airplane type, the Boeing 737 Max 8, something that is unprecedented in modern aviation history. For too many years, the FAA has not been provided budgets sufficient to ensure appropriate oversight of a...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday ordered two Boeing 737 Max jets — one model of which was involved in the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people — to be temporarily grounded in the U.S. The agency said the decision was made to ground both the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 9 models "as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analyzed." "The grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft's flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders," the FAA...

Pilots repeatedly voiced safety concerns about the Boeing 737 Max 8 to federal authorities, with one captain calling the flight manual "inadequate and almost criminally insufficient" several months before Sunday's Ethiopian Air crash that killed 157 people, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News found. The News found five complaints about the Boeing model in a federal database where pilots can voluntarily report about aviation incidents without fear of repercussions. ************ The disclosures found by The News reference problems with an autopilot system, and they all occurred during the ascent after takeoff. Many mentioned the plane suddenly nosing down. While...

Full title: DGCA lays down the law , says no Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will be allowed to enter, transit Indian airspace An official of aviation watchdog DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), on Wednesday, said that all Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in India will be grounded by 4 pm today.  According to news agency PTI, the regulator, which on Tuesday, decided to immediately ground the aircraft amid global concerns following the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people, including four Indians, shall ground all the Bowing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in India by 4 pm. The planes will...

I am Gerald Eastman, The Last (Boeing) Inspector. You can find more about me here and throughout this site. I have been fighting the Boeing/FAA fraud noted above since January 11th, 2002, when I was explicitly faced with the fact that this fraud was put in place and directed by Boeing Management by my QA supervisor of the time. My QA supervisor was just the most honest of several corrupt Boeing QA supervisors I had had at that point. QA supervisors at Boeing were the same as similarly corrupt Boeing Manufacturing Management. Both focused on achieving cost and schedule goals...

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Federal authorities say a Newark-to-Houston United Airlines flight declared an emergency when an engine shut down as the plane was descending into their destination Sunday night. Flight 1168, a Boeing 737-900, was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members when engine trouble began as the plane neared George Bush Intercontinental Airport. One passenger told Houston media outlets that he heard a loud bang, felt a strong vibration and saw a flash of light. "I noticed as we were coming into Houston airport, I heard sounds that I don't normally hear when I fly," passenger Leonard...

Aviation regulators from China to Britain have grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, joining a growing list of countries suspending the plane’s operation and banning it from their airspace after the second deadly crash of the popular aircraft in less than five months. After the U.K. issued its statement about the planes, President Donald Trump on Tuesday tweeted: “Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. “I see it all the time in many products,” he said. “Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and...

A cargo plane carrying at least three people crashed into a bay in the southeastern part of Texas on Saturday, officials said. The Federal Aviation Administration released a statement confirming that a twin-engine Boeing 767 cargo jetliner crashed into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas about 12:45 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration is delaying flights into New York's LaGuardia Airport due to 'staffing' issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into La Guardia airport in New York City on Friday amid a shortage of air traffic control staff, according to multiple reports. The partial government shutdown has impacted air traffic controllers, who are deemed essential workers and have to work without pay. Newark and Philadelphia reportedly are also stopping all incoming flights, according to Bloomberg.

While everyone’s eyes were on now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings and votes the Republicans grew government. Again.President Donald Trump signed into law the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 – a law which regulates everything from airline seat sizes to whether people can make cell phone calls on flights (something Jazz wrote in favor of earlier today). The bill also defined exactly what a Lactation Area is (they can’t be in restrooms) and includes money for studies looking at the design specifics of aircraft oxygen and on allergic reactions on board airlines. There’s also a study on what...

The Federal Aviation Administration would be required to set new minimum requirements for seats on airplanes under legislation to be considered in the House this week, possibly giving passengers a break from ever-shrinking legroom and cramped quarters. The regulation of seat width and legroom is part of a five-year extension of federal aviation programs announced early Saturday by Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate committees that oversee the nation’s air travel. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to keep FAA programs running. The Senate will also need to take up the bill this week or both chambers...

ATCs must necessarily be among the most skilled and competent federal government employees. In accordance with an Obama administration plan to “transform” the Federal Aviation Administration into a “more diverse workplace” however, the FAA has abandoned its merit-based hiring program for ATCs, as it implements a plan to hire 1,000 ATCs a year to replace a generation of retiring controllers. Congress can and should intervene in this unfortunate plan to restore sanity and safety to the skies, because it endangers people’s lives. ... It is expensive and time-consuming to train ATCs, and many candidates who believe they have what it...

Tamar Braxton Responds to Delta Airlines’ Statement Rebuking Her ‘Unusual Behavior’ Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Tamar Braxton has responded to a Delta Airlines statement blaming her “unusual behavior” and her refusal to follow a flight attendant’s instructions during a recent flight. Tamar’s sister Towanda accused a Delta pilot of ridiculing Tamar after the pilot left the safety of the reinforced cockpit to deal with the part-time singer’s unruly behavior. “@tamarbraxton got ridiculed by a pilot for flying while black on Delta,” Towanda wrote in an Instagram post dated July 28. “Wow! I guess being a diamond and double million miler...