Following two air crashes in October 2018 and March 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX airliner was "grounded globally." Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States stated that it has officially approved the Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane to go around after a go-around assessment and safety review. What are the procedures to go through? Has its safety hazard been completely eliminated? Why did the FAA "give the green light" to resume flights?
Before the Boeing 737 MAX goes around,
must complete the software update and pilot training
It is understood that after being approved for the go-around, Boeing must also complete the software update and new pilot training. This process takes at least 30 days before the 737 MAX can be used. Return to the sky.
According to US media reports, the FAA’s “green light” for the 737 MAX’s go-around is only the first step. The go-around aircraft involved only 72 737 MAX passenger planes from United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. To travel to and from other countries and regions, the aircraft needs to obtain approval from the local civil aviation department.
Has the design defect of the Boeing 737 MAX
been resolved?
On October 29, 2018 and March 10, 2019, two 737 MAX airliners of Indonesia Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines lost contact and crashed after takeoff, resulting in a total of 346 people killed. After the incident, the aviation regulatory agencies of various countries successively announced the suspension of commercial flights of all Boeing 737 MAX models.
All investigation reports generally believe that the main reason for the two air crashes in 2018 and 2019 is the design flaws in the anti-stall automatic control system equipped with the Boeing 737 MAX.
experts said that the defects of the anti-stall automatic control system can be remedied through software upgrades and updates, but re-testing is required to prove the effectiveness of the improvement. Boeing also needs to upgrade the software of each airline's fleet, train each airline's flight and ground crews, and also need to prove the effectiveness of the improvements to the airworthiness authorities of various countries.
Family members of the victims have not yet seen the final investigation report
Regarding the Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement of the lifting of the grounding order for the Boeing 737 MAX, the family members of the victims of the air crash questioned and believed that the final air crash investigation has not yet been seen According to the report, Boeing did not pay attention to the inherent insecurity of this type of flight.
Civil Aviation Administration of China:
must comply with the three principles for a go-around in China
Feng Zhenglin, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said earlier that there is no timetable for the Boeing 737 MAX to fly around in China. On the issue of the go-around, the three principles of the Chinese civil aviation go-around:
aircraft design changes must be approved for airworthiness;
pilots must be fully and effectively trained; the investigation conclusions of the two
accidents must be clear, and The improvement measures are effective.
This time the FAA has approved the Boeing 737 MAX to fly again, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China still adheres to the three principles.
Why did the FAA "green light"?
Affected by the global grounding of Boeing 737 MAX series aircraft and the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the aviation industry, Boeing's net loss has reached 3.5 billion US dollars in the first three quarters of this year. In order to further cut expenses, Boeing will increase its layoffs and will lay off 30,000 employees.
Is the approval of the Boeing 737 MAX to go back and forth due to economic reasons? What other considerations does the FAA have for its "green light"? In this regard, Teng Jianqun, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, said that on the one hand, the FAA’s decision has commercial considerations to help Boeing recover economic losses and demonstrate the reliability of Boeing products; on the other hand, political considerations are intended to restore the United States. The aircraft industry has a leading position in the world.
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