A Boeing 737 Max 8 from Garuda Airlines being examined in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Summary:
Garuda, an Indonesian airline, wrote a letter to Boeing (BA) announcing that they are cancelling a $4.9 billion order for Boeing's 737 Max 8 jets. They have been the first airline to cancel a Boeing 737 Max 8 order. After two recent deadly crashes in less than 5 months, the bestselling aircraft has been grounded worldwide over safety concerns, which is anticipated to harm the company of billions of dollars.
The path off Boeing 737 Max 8 flights around the globe in a week. The site of the Ethiopian Airlines crash is marked above.
The first crash, in October 29, was the first fatal accident in involvement of a Boeing 737 Max 8. The flight, Lion Air flight 610, took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, but crashed only 12 minutes later into the Java Sea, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. Then, on March 10, the same model plane used in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed 6 minutes after takeoff, where all 157 people abroad lost their lives. The causes of both crashes are currently under investigation.
However, investigators did notice a substantial similarity between both crashes: both planes contained a newly developed automated flight control system known as The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which is a plausible cause of the accident. To increase fuel efficiency, Boeing designed new engines for the Max. The control system was then developed to point the nose of the airplane downwards when it detected stalling. Most pilots were unaware of this new system or how it operated. Additionally, the pilots on the Lion Air flight may have had as little as 40 seconds to identify and fix the aircraft's probable nosedive.
A brief explanation of how the MCAS system was to be used on the airplane. The video can also be accessed here.
The 737 Max 8 aircraft is significantly the most important product of the company, and is widely popular in airlines in North America. There are multiple major airlines such as American Airlines (AAL) and Southwest (LUV) that claimed to have no plans on changing their orders for 737 Max 8. Many orders have been placed on nearly 5,000 of these planes, which is enough to keep the aircraft production queue busy for years.
Technology may have occasional accidents, but both crashes could have been entirely avoided. I was very shocked to find out that most pilots did not even know about the control system. This indicates the company's insufficient training of the airline pilots and poor development of the aircraft machinery, and makes us question our safety on airplane flights, which should be the primary concern of the airline. I believe that the MCAS is definitely part of the cause of both crashes since the similarities (both having the MCAS, both pointed at close angles during impact) can't just be a coincidence. Boeing should immediately look into modifying the control system and ensuring proper training for a safer flight.
Connection:
This topic can be connected to the WWII unit because during WWII, countries were constantly developing new machinery for war. Planes were very commonly used in battles, which were very dangerous, especially since the weapons being used were new and constantly being developed. Today, although with modern technology, we still do have these risks with new machinery.
Questions:
1. Was it right for Boeing to develop the flight control system?
2. Why have some airlines cancelled all orders for the aircraft while others did not?
3. Would customers trust riding on airlines that still use Boeing 737 Max 8?
Additional Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/world/asia/indonesia-boeing-737.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/business/boeing-737-crashes.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXTBZ89kyQ
https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-safety/what-is-the-boeing-737-max-maneuvering-characteristics-augmentation-system-mcas-jt610/
I think that it was right for Boeing to develop the new flight control system, but they should've made sure that new and old pilots know how to use it. When developing something new, Boeing should check for any malfunctions or problems when using this new system. Not only that, the new and old pilots should've been able to over ride the system and know how to use it. Whats the point of using something new and confusing if you don't know how to use it. I think the reason why some companies have cancelled all of their orders is because they are new and have not been with Boeing for a long time. If a company were to be with Boeing for 30 years and they decided that they didn't want their planes because of the recent incident it wouldn't make sense. That company has already invested billions of dollars already so cancelling would be a big problem. I think the reason why Indonesia Garuda cancelled is because they had not a lot to lose. Quote "The 737 Max jets are by far the most important product for the company. It has orders for nearly 5,000 of the aircraft, enough to keep production lines operating for years to come." Most likely customers are still gonna use Boeing because after this the problem should be fixed and new protocols will be set in place.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2019/03/22/business/boeing-737-max-garuda-cancel/index.html
Kris Nguyen
After reading your comment, I see your point why Boeing should have developed the flight control system to balance out the design of its new engines. Knowing that especially in our present world, technology is constantly advancing, and they had the right to test out their development. However, the fault is that the control system was too hurriedly put into place by Boeing, since there was not enough proper testing of the system and the pilots were not trained enough to utilize it. I feel that the company really should have prioritized safety in its new developments by assuring it with several tests and trials, and spending more time in experimenting the feature rather than just directly using it. Both accidents were caused by improper training and could be easily prevented. Despite this, Boeing instead prioritized money and fuel efficiency that risked the lives of a multitude of passengers. Therefore, I find the feature a very wrong action of Boeing since although they were developing new technologies, they only used the system only to their own benefit while risking safety. Not only that, the system was very rushed and carelessly set up. Lastly, I believe that airlines have cancelled their orders because of their sudden careless actions and accidents, which is a large indication of a sudden drop in efficiency of Boeing's products. Even after 30 years, a well-known company can still make mistakes and worsen. Cancelling would not necessarily be a big problem especially considering the large risks in using the product.
DeleteBoeing’s new flight control system is essential for future advances in such technology. However, this system should be slowly integrated into a pilot’s training, and not immediately set up without prior checking for potential malfunctions. As for Garuda Indonesia wanting to cancel their orders that was placed back in 2014, it may just be that Garuda Indonesia and other airlines are trying to use the controversy over two fatal MAX crashes to push Boeing for better terms for the costly aircraft, according to analysts and industry insiders (https://www.seattletimes.com/business/airline-threats-to-cancel-boeing-max-orders-may-just-be-a-bargaining-tactic/). Soon, Boeing may see a wave of cancellations before it can fix the flawed control system. Other airlines such as Lion Airs - one of the largest MAX customers with 187 orders - and Malaysia Airlines have also threatened or at least talked about cancellations. One reason why many airlines choose not to cancel their orders is because that aircraft contracts are extremely hard to break. Garuda also has nothing to lose, with only 1 out of their 148 current fleet being a Boeing 737 MAX 8. Boeing is also a very trusted, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. Most airlines will be reluctant to take action that could damage their relationship with one of only two major aircraft manufacturers, said Embry-Riddle’s Abdelghany. As of right now, customers may be reluctant to ride on the Boeing 737 MAX 8’s because of the controversy around it. But, after the technical problems are fixed and more successful flights occur, the situation will revert back to normal and customers will continue to book flights on Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/business/canada-737-max.html
https://www.garuda-indonesia.com/my/en/garuda-indonesia-experience/fleets/fleet-revitalization.page?
It was right for Boeing to develop the flight control system as technology constantly develops and improves. However, MCAS should not have been implemented without thorough testing. After all, safety is most important and it is evident that something went wrong with the process developing the new system. According to attorney Steven Marks, competition from Airbus pressured Boeing to make new advancements, ultimately causing the design mistakes that lead to the recent crashes (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ethiopian-airlines-crash-black-box-data-indicates-anti-stall-system-activated-2019-03-29/). I agree with Marks because a rushed process of developing a new system will definitely be prone to a lot of mistakes being made and an end result of poor quality. I believe the FAA should have oversaw the process of developing the MCAS as a security measure to make sure that nothing will go wrong. Some airlines have cancelled all their orders because of the accidents that happened with the airplane and to maintain customers' trust. Other airlines probably do not cancel all their orders because an investment into these airplanes involves a lot of money that would be hard to manage. I do not think customers would trust riding on airlines that still use the Boeing 737 Max 8 even if they book flights on other models. There is no trust surrounding this model and people will not want to risk their life in any possible way.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for there to be technological advancements since it will help to improve the efficiency and safety or slights in the future when done correctly. Due to differing opinions on the safety and trust in Boeing, some companies might chose to keep or withdraw their orders. For these similar reasons, some customers might choose that the planes are safe while others do not. Despite this, the these crashes do not seem to be affecting the company too heavily, as their stock prices are growing rather than declining. https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2019/04/01/boeing-crash-report-coming-soon-but-stock-price.html
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I believe that in the future the company and employers should definitely tell their pilots and flight crew about the plane in more detail for the safety for everybody on board.
In my opinion, it is right for Boeing to develop the flight control system. Since technology is allowing more advanced and precise systems to emerge, this control system is just one more advancement meant to improve quality of flying. However, the system developer failed to design an effective manual control system that allows pilates to alter the functions. Most pilates that fly Boeing 737 Max 8 doesn’t know how to manually stop the control system from malfunctioning. Two major reasons why some airlines cancelled all orders for Boeing 737 Max 8 is for safety of customers and unwillingness to be responsible for more accidents. One accident causes a lot of money and decreasing the chance of accident by changing aircrafts is definitely worth it. However, the accidents will decrease the price for Boeing 737 Max 8 planes by a significant amount. This allows small companies to invest and order more for the future. Ordering doesn’t mean to put into use. This heated issue will soon be solved by the aircraft company, and people will trust the plane again after the safety is guaranteed. This might take a while, but eventually people will forget about the incidents. By then, the small companies can simply utilize all the planes they bought for a much cheaper price and gain a lot more profit. Personally, I would not trust Boeing 737 Max 8 unless I have to go somewhere and that was the only solution offered. I think it will take a few years for the aircraft to build reputation again. If airlines choose to use Boeing 737 Max 8 before the solution is presented, it’s extremely unlikely that they will make profit. However, they can lower the price so that people that are willing to risk life for money can choose to use the plane. Another likelihood is that people might not even notice what type of airplane they are traveling by, and the airlines might still be able to operate properly.
ReplyDeleteI think the advancement in technology is very important especially in our time now. But like what many people have said, Boeing airlines should have trained the new pilots on how to deal with the technology advancements. This is a terrible tragedy that is caused from the lack of understanding and education from pilots. Pilots should know everything on the planes before flying with passengers in it. Boeing Arlines should be cancelled in all areas until the pilots learn the new advancements and not cause any more accidents or deaths.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Boeing does have the right to develop the flight control system since technology is developing more everyday, and the MCAS advancement could have been the next step for planes. However I do find it strange that Boeing did not inform the pilots about the MCAS. I think the pilots needed to know that the MCAS was added and needed to confirm that they knew what to do/ how to work it. Many of the airlines have not cancelled their orders because breaking the contract is very difficult. The only reason why Garuda was able to break their contract was because they would not lose anything. For now I do not thing many people will take Boeing 735 Max 8 since there have been two crashes that killed all passengers on board, however if Boeing is able to regain people's trust and show that their planes are safe, people will start flying with them again.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very irresponsible of Boeing to have implemented this new flight control system with out testing it and teaching the pilots about how to use it. Due to this, hundreds of people have died. Some airlines have canceled orders for these plains and some have not and I think this is due to their faith in Boeing to be able to fix this problem. Some airlines probably believe Boeing will be able to figure it out while Garuda airlines thinks opposite. Personally I would not like to ride on a Boeing 747 Max 8 until this problem is figured out. Luckily for us, "The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday grounded all Boeing 737 Max jets in the U.S." according to CNBC. So I think we can all fly safely for the mean time.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/boeing-shares-fall-after-report-says-us-expected-to-ground-737-max-fleet.html
Boeing is at fault here for failing to educate the pilots that maneuvered the aircrafts, which was a major factor of the crashes. However, Boeing also totally had the right to develop the new flight systems, as it is necessary for further advancement in this area. This failure in the Boeing management must lead to a renewed sense of motivation to create new, safe, and effective technology. Boeing has a massive responsibility because hundreds of people are relying on Boeing products every minute of every day. As Boeing and other airline stocks tumble, it is obvious to see why multiple airlines like Garuda are rejecting their original requests to build and use 737 Max 8 airplanes. Over spring break, one of my flights was cancelled because it was going to be on a Boeing 737 Max 8, and it ended up being recalled. This caused a ton of hectic chaos amongst my family as we scrambled to find available flights. Other airlines have visible reasons to decline the use of these airplanes. If I were faced with this decision, I would use Boeing 737 Max 8s as long as the pilots were educated and felt positive that they knew how to operate the plane.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was okay for Boeing to develop the new flight control system, but since it would be a new type of technology, they should have told the airlines that their pilots would need more training with this new system to be able to fly the Boeing 737 Max 8. I think that it was a good thing that Boeing created a new flight control system as technology advancements are very beneficial and good for us. Boeing should have chosen to slowly integrate the new system so that all pilots would be able to work with it, and that their choice of just putting it out there was not very smart. I think that some airlines have cancelled their orders with Boeing while others have not is because there has not been any major flaws pointed out in its design. All these contracts with Boeing concerning the Boeing 737, are very costly contracts and most likely very hard to withdraw from. As stated by Forbes, since these contracts are very costly many airlines are not going to withdraw from their orders unless there is something fundamentally wrong with the design.(https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2019/03/11/the-boeing-737-max-crashes-is-there-a-problem-with-the-plane-or-the-pilots/#299c79f4584a)
ReplyDeleteBoeing should be able to make technological advances within their airplanes, but they should make sure that the systems are completely bug free. The system that was inputted into the 737 Max 8 should be useful in helping the pilots to fly the plane, but they need to be trained as to how to use the systems as well as having a safe override system that the pilots are able to use. There should be more training for the pilots flying specific aircraft so that they know the ins and outs of the aircraft, including possible problems. According to CNN, no Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes were ordered during March 2019, showing that airlines do not trust the electronic equipment that led to the crashes of two airplanes which killed well over 200 people. Many places have boycotted the airplanes, but if Boeing can find a way to fix the electronic bugs with the system then they will most likely be able to recover from the lack of orders of their best selling aircraft. As long as the aircraft is reliable, then people will go back to using the 737 max planes. Once the pilots and the planes are reliable, Boeing will make a full recovery and there will be less fear around flying once again.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2019/04/09/business/boeing-737-max-deliveries/index.html
I think that most customers wouldn't be aware of the situation pertaining to the Boeing Airplanes in the first place. Since both crashes took place in Ethiopia and Indonesia, maybe they have different policies regarding their pilots. From my point of view, I would trust riding one of these airplanes from the U.S. The U.S. seems pretty trustworthy as a whole regarding their airline system. On the other hand, people who are aware of this issue might choose to not take the risk by flying on a Boeing 737 Max 8. I understand that having two crashes in the span of 5 months especially with the same airplane model is a bit suspicious. Even still, I the chances of crashing are approximately 1 in 3 million, so I wouldn't worry taking the airplane.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it was right for them to develop this new flight control system. We are always looking to make things better and develop them even more so they are not in the wrong for developing it. The problem is that for some odd reason, the pilots seemed very unaware of this new technology which very well could have led to these crashes. The reasoning behind Boeing leaving the pilots in the dark is an absolute mystery which makes absolutely no sense at all. It also seems that this new system was not completely bug free so it should not have been implemented until they had run it hundreds of times and made sure that it worked properly. I believe that while some have no cancelled their order, we most likely will not be seeing these planes in the air for a decently long time. When a new plane like this has multiple crashes in a short span of time, it raises lots of questions about the plane and the passengers safety which Boeing will have to figure out. I would not feel good flying on this plane for quite some time. In the wake of such crashes I would be super cautious about this plane and I would definitely not be in a rush to fly on it anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteKayla Shiao: I think Boeing had every right to develop the new control system. After all, Boeing is the producer, and the consumer, airlines worldwide, can choose whether or not they support these changes. Although, I think the company should have put in place specific guidelines for training on how to use the new technology to avoid fatalities like the ones that happened. In the main article, it appears that these crashes happened mainly because the pilots did not know how to operate the new system, but according to a NPR podcast, the pilots on the Ethiopia Airlines flight had done everything Boeing recommended if the plane was nose diving and it still crashed. So, I think it is probable more companies will be pulling back orders in fear of potentially harming employees and customers. If companies do not pull back, their ticket sales could be harmed if people do not feel safe enough to fly.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Boeing developing the new flight system was the issue, but rather the fact that they obviously didn’t do enough testing. They also should have told pilots that they were updating the flight system and it was incredibly irresponsible for Boeing not to teach the pilots how to use the new system. Although improvements to the aircraft are vital to the advancement of the flight industry, Boeing’s lack of testing and not notifying the pilots or properly training them on how to use the system potentially caused 346 deaths. Some airlines realized the immense risk of the new flight systems and decided not to buy. I personally believe this is a good idea, at least until Boeing agrees to do more testing and train the pilots. Even though it may not be ideal to hold off buying “new and improved” airplanes, it would be worth it to prevent potentially causing more deaths. Although I can see why airlines might risk it and still order the aircraft (money, business, maybe they don’t believe theres a high chance of it happening again?) I think it would be better if they held off, at least until they knew the aircraft was safe. This being said, I think Boeing is responsible here and should be taking action and halting the sale of aircrafts until they figure out the cause of the crashes and how to solve them.
ReplyDeleteI think it was right for Boeing to devlop the new flight control system as it was in the best interest customers, but the company should have done more training to inform the pilots and crew on how it works. Some airline companies have recinded their orders because they don’t want planes that may go down part of their fleet, as this might taint their reputation. Others didn’t beause they knew that with proper training, it was likely that these situations could have been avoided. Customers that travel on airlines that still use these planes might be a little wary, but with the proper information and knowing exactly what went wrong, they should be able to trust the airlines, but ultimately the decision of whether or not to fly an airline depedning on the plane is up to the customer.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2019/03/19/boeing-737-max-8-crash-ceo-says-jetmaker-working-ensure-safety/3209735002/
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/13/702908761/why-did-a-boeing-737-max-8-crash-the-probe-is-in-its-early-stages
http://time.com/5550449/pilots-boeing-737-max-issues/