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Boeing altered key switches in 737 MAX cockpit, limiting ability to shut off MCAS

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In the middle of Boeing 737 cockpits, sitting between the pilot seats, are two toggle switches that can immediately shut off power to the systems that control the angle of the plane’s horizontal tail. But as Boeing was transitioning from its 737 NG model to the 737 MAX, the company altered the labeling and the purpose of those two switches. (www.seattletimes.com) עוד...

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milehighou
milehighou 8
The more I hear, the more I think people should be going to jail over this. At the very least, the CEO and other key players should be fired. It's sad to see an American giant like Boeing disgraced like this.
OccamsRazor
Ben Bosley 10
Boeing product liability lawsuit, prosecution exhibit A
mrdot
LW P 7
Yup. You can't just blame it on foreign pilots anymore.
turbohawk
David Turner 5
Sabotaging pilots is not a good way to design a system.
Cansojr
Cansojr 15
BOEING effectively sabotaged the pilots ability to control an elevator that is not responding to control inputs. In other words they have taken control from pilots who are used to the conventional 737 switches layout. This left them (The pilots) no options to recover from a severe unusual attitude. Hence these horrible crashes are Boeing's fault.
n791fr
Edward Davis 2
Have you ever flown a 737? Have you read the Stab Runaway checklist? Pull back on the wheel. Put your feet on the foot rest, have the other guy manually trim the Stab after you turn off all the power to it!
Helps if you got a “qualified” other guy? Virtually impossible to accomplish single pilot? Really!
vector4traffic
vector4traffic 2
Ya got PLENTY of time to run checklists as the plane pitches every 10s... And trimming my hand with any powered assist should be easy, right? Boeing "insider" training made any trim issues a MEMORY item so it does same the checklists but trimming manually is like parking a Cadillac without power-steering.
n791fr
Edward Davis 5
That fact is, if the plane was pitching over, I sure as hell wouldn’t try to figure out which switch to turn off? Turn them both off, manage ur speed, and manually trim the Stab!
pappyroehrer
Bob Roehrer 2
Accroding to another recent article... if the ship is nose down and fast, you can't move the trim wheel manually; you have to do a 'roller coaster' maneuver, and roll the wheel in increments after the horizontal is 'unloaded'.
pappyroehrer
Bob Roehrer 1
And....Obviously, when you only have 3,000 feet of playbox, this roller coaster thing is a fantasy.
vector4traffic
vector4traffic 2
Trimming the stabilizer by hand without hydraulics or electrical assist is arduous and time-consuming when you're plunging to the ground from relatively low alt.
milehighou
milehighou 2
On top of that, I thought I read that the aerodynamic forces could be too great to overcome by human strength. So what does one do? Turn the electric trim back on, which reactivates MCAS. Yikes =(
wecsam
David Tsai 1
I'm not sure what the QRH says, but turning both switches off and moving the trim wheels by hand makes sense to me.
jwills8606
James Wills 2
Jesus, I hope this is not as bad as it looks.
Forensics1
Charles Adams 2
What else could Boeing have possibly done to screw this up any worse? A company just crammed with brilliant people, dedicated to making the best possible product, somehow allowed the bean counters and what can only be some sociopathic folks in the management stream take over. The result was that Boeing has slit its own throat in so many ways that even though there is still a Boeing heartbeat, the patient may never survive.

THIS JUST IN - AFTER 346 PEOPLE HAVE SUDDENLY DIED IN TESLA AUTOMOBILE CRASHES ELON MUSK ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WILL REVERSE THEIR DECISION TO MAKE THEIR CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM INCREASE THE VELOCITY OF THE VEHICLE WHILE STEERING INTO THE SKID EVEN AFTER THE LANE CONTROL SENSORS HAVE DETERMINED THE CAR IS IN AN UNCONTROLLED SKID OR A 360 DEGREE SPIN.

OH YEA, THE BUTTON THAT TURNS YOUR CRUISE CONTROL OFF, WE FORGOT TO TELL YOU THAT YOU WE RECONFIGURED IT SO IT DOESN'T WORK ANYTHING LIKE IT USED TO. YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO READ THE MANUAL WHILE YOUR VEHICLE IS SPINNING IN CIRCLES DOWN THE FREE WAY.

My father flew the Boeing B-29 off of Tinian Island during WW2. Thirty-five combat missions over the empire. He is now 101 and can tell you about every mission. We grew up appreciating Boeing as a life saver. Now I think it is really, really broken and they need to do more that promise to get the MAX 8 flying again. They need to time out and step back to figure out how, at a personal level, how some catastrophic decisions at the magnet level wrested away enough control to light off this uber -catastrophic chain of events
drumchile
Chris Messer 1
Well stated. I concur.
xtoler
Larry Toler 1
I wondered what would happen if say new technology came out, namely all glass cockpits there maybe misunderstandings by pilots if not properly trained in the new aircraft's systems. I'm not blaming the pilots who crashed their aircrafts, but there should have been an Air Directive briefed before they took the new model 737. Seems like back in my day our pilots had a new AD twice a month on the EMB 145's we flew.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

btweston
btweston 10
You clearly didn’t read the article.
vector4traffic
vector4traffic 4
Worldwide pilots have poo poo'ed Boeing's handling of MCAS so you really have no sway compared to the pilots who actually fly the plane.

KineticRider
Randy Marco 2
1950 YOU should do some research....

Several weeks ago you commented on my MAX post saying "the stab doesn't trim a plane ONLY the elevator trims the plane".  Your comment demonstrates your complete and utter ignorance on the Max and flying modern, to you, aircraft.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

ah6oy
Jim DeTour 0
The FAA allowing Boeing to check off their own compliance seems to of had somebody at Boeing figure everything will be okay so let the engineers and sales handle it. Ended up very horrible for a lot of persons. The FAA and whatever organization oversees them is very responsible seeing it should of been spotted by a qualified FAA man. Aviation did not get to where it is today with shortcuts. How about just having a progressively more active control if going to the limits on the controls.
KineticRider
Randy Marco -1
Your comment is nonsensical, you're talking in circles.

Boeing lobbied for self regulation & received it, of which the MAGA party endorses.

The Max is the result of self regulation, period.
Forensics1
Charles Adams 1
"period" - really? Now that is nonsensical. And how many tests have you done to confirm that? Where is it written that Boeing in now complexity unregulated? What can you tell us about Boeing's 'self-regulation' procedures? Just how does that work, exactly?

I think you have a problem with Trump and are just venting nonsense. That's OK. You are allowed to do that. And I am allowed to call your out. You have no real idea of the complexities involved here. No one does.
KineticRider
Randy Marco -1
Actually I do know EXACTLY.... remember MAGA and winning is EASY, just keep believing the con!

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

btweston
btweston 20
It was written by a reporter who it passing along information gleaned from the flight manuals, checklists, and a former Boeing flight controls engineer. I’m not sure what your problem is.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

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