Posted on 03/14/2019 2:33:55 PM PDT by rickmichaels
Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the sea off Indonesia because the pilot “lost (the) fight with his software,” Canadian Transport minister Marc Garneau chillingly told a Wednesday press conference announcing the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
There is nothing wrong with the basic mechanics of the aircraft: Its engines, wings and control surfaces are all believed to be working fine. Rather, the passenger jet may have killed 346 people for the terrifyingly modern reason that human pilots were unable to override a malfunctioning computer.
The cause of the Lion Air crash — and the suspected cause of the recent downing of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 — is a little-known piece of software known as MCAS, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System.
The 737 MAX 8 has heavier and more fuel-efficient engines than prior editions of the 737, a change which causes the aircraft to pitch upwards ever-so-slightly after takeoff.
Rather than instructing airlines to warn their pilots of this quirk, Boeing simply equipped the MAX 8 with MCAS, a program that would automatically tilt the nose downwards to compensate.
In normal circumstances, the system is not a problem, but it only takes a minor maintenance error to turn MCAS into a deadly liability.
In the case of Lion Air Flight 610, the 737 MAX 8 had a faulty “angle of attack sensor”; a small blade sticking out of the cockpit that records the angle of the aircraft in flight.
The sensor was wrongly telling the MAX 8’s flight computers that the aircraft was climbing much more sharply than it was. As a result, pilots were left wrestling with an aircraft that was repeatedly plunging itself towards the ground for no reason.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...
“then their only chance — coordinating disengaging autopilot — fell to the rookie. Not a chance.”
Disengaging the autopilot is one of the things that turns ON the MCAS system. The MCAS system that Boeing didn’t tell any operator even existed.
One pilot wrote that “within two to three seconds the aircraft pitched nose down” after enabling the autopilot during takeoff. Once the autopilot was disengaged, the captain was able to continue climbing and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.
I wonder if anybody from Boeing is involved in the French proceedings?
Sky Net
When looking up the QRS-11 there are some crazed websites— one called abeldanger... .that refer to the Rose Law Firm, and
BEI Technologies for a quartz resistance sensor. Can’t make heads or tails of the reality of this
patent held quartz sensor that pdf file of it says has application in aircraft controls, missile technology- guidance etc.
So— don’t know- sorry for the wandering and wondering. The websites are really screwy. the PDF file for the BEI technology data sheet are not. This might refer back to when the clintons gave china satellite tracking ability— given to them by a major donor Schwartz guy with Loral. That DID happen and as usual, for money.
Complexity and sophistication INCREASE the number of points where strategic errors are possible - every time.
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot.”
Just an aside but Happy 140th birthday Albert.
The nose went down 26 times because the pilots were incompetent and didn’t disable the automatic trim.
“I really don’t understand why they gave up and let the aircraft fly into the ground.”
They didn’t. We all know the Buck Savage thinking that all ya gotta do is “pull up”. But it doesn’t work like that. With each oscillation induced by the system that Boeing never revealed to operators or pilots, the downforce becomes more dramatic until pilot input can no longer overcome it.
It isn’t just because John Wayne pumps kettle bells and doesn’t “give up”, that it can be overcome.
“I don’t care if they were getting stick-shaker, stall horns, whatever. If there’s ground in front of me, I’m pulling up. “
When MCAS is wrong because of sensors, the pilots input is merely that he is a “voting member”. The MCAS overules him.
It’s happened twice, with brand new planes.
This obviously was not to me... Complex is a big word for me.
“One pilot wrote that “within two to three seconds the aircraft pitched nose down” after enabling the autopilot during takeoff. Once the autopilot was disengaged, the captain was able to continue climbing and the remainder of the flight was uneventful.”
Here’s the tricky part. That could have easily been a typical malfunction of an autopilot system, and have nothing to do with the separate, and undisclosed, MCAS system. That incident may literally have nothing to do with the MCAS accidents.
Autopilots routinely have issues and need work. A plane may refuse to hold a heading. A plane may not stay within the altitude parameters allowed.
Sounds like your boy is describing an autopilot issue.
Ok, captain Bell.
CC
>> The computer was fine. The sensor was bad, and the airline should have had the plane grounded because of the sensor. Even so, any competent pilot could have handled the situation. <<
If they realized what was happening, and it was happening persistently.
Sorry, Moon man is right and you are full of.... So the plane’s nose dipped 26 times .. It would have dipped 27 times except the pilot ran out of altitude and ideas at the same time. The first time the nose dipped, ANY competent pilot would have flipped a couple of switches and thought nothing of it, just a glitch.
No Cptn just FE
about..
the flight-recorders. not being handed to the US...
only a moron would trust Boeing or the FAA
It was not a computer problem, it was a faulty sensor... Jeez
“The software is defective if it cannot handle a faulty sensor.”
How does a computer or a human know when a sensor is giving a wrong measurement? The plane needs at least two of those sensors, maybe three for redundancy.
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