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> The forthcoming software upgrade for MCAS certainly implies that there were improvements to be made. Not according to Boeing... "Boeing has been developing a

> The forthcoming software upgrade for MCAS certainly implies that there were improvements to be made. Not according to Boeing... "Boeing has been developing a flight control software enhancement for the 737 MAX, designed to make an already safe aircraft even safer."[1] To me an incredibly infuriating statement. The 737-MAX has a fatal crash rate of ~4 per million, when compared to .1 per million for the 737-NG models (40x). There is no currently flying major commercial aircraft which has a higher fatal crash rate than the 737-MAX [2] [3] Of course the MAX has a small sample size, but that's still not evidence of safety. What data is Boeing looking at to show that their aircraft is considered a safe aircraft? [1] https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=130402 https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=1... [2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-737-crashes-liability-204033568.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-737-crashes-liability-... [3] http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/rate_mod.htm http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/rate_mod.htm

jussij 8y ago
It really does not matter what spin Boeing comes up with regarding the cause of these crashes. The reality is in a very short space of time two 737-MAX have fallen out of the sky. You only have to look back at the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to understand once a plane gets a bad reputation, it is doomed. For an example of how this can go bad so very quickly, here in Australia this issue has become so new worthy, it's now been revealed one our major carriers is planning to introduce the 737-MAX in November. I suspect just that little fact is going to become a major headache for that particular carrier.
- rectang 8y ago
  The DC-10's infamous cargo door was a grievously poor design choice, violating well-understood safety principles for the sake of a little more cargo space. It's everything you fear about psychopath executives rolling the dice on safety because what do they care? The DC-10 deserved its ignominious reputation and the McDonnell-Douglas deserved every bit of the scorn they received and more.
  - mprev 8y ago
    It might turn out that the MAX situation is a similar roll of the dice.
    - jussij 8y ago
      That would also be my take on this situation. The fact remains two brand new, state of the art aircraft have some how managed to fall out of the sky and the best the builder of the plane can offer is the plane is safest plane ever. I don't see how that spin will not stick and I too suspect the public perception will grown to a point were this plane is also branded a lemon.

jussij 8y ago

It really does not matter what spin Boeing comes up with regarding the cause of these crashes. The reality is in a very short space of time two 737-MAX have fallen out of the sky. You only have to look back at the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to understand once a plane gets a bad reputation, it is doomed. For an example of how this can go bad so very quickly, here in Australia this issue has become so new worthy, it's now been revealed one our major carriers is planning to introduce the 737-MAX in November. I suspect just that little fact is going to become a major headache for that particular carrier.

rectang 8y ago
The DC-10's infamous cargo door was a grievously poor design choice, violating well-understood safety principles for the sake of a little more cargo space. It's everything you fear about psychopath executives rolling the dice on safety because what do they care? The DC-10 deserved its ignominious reputation and the McDonnell-Douglas deserved every bit of the scorn they received and more.
- mprev 8y ago
  It might turn out that the MAX situation is a similar roll of the dice.
  - jussij 8y ago
    That would also be my take on this situation. The fact remains two brand new, state of the art aircraft have some how managed to fall out of the sky and the best the builder of the plane can offer is the plane is safest plane ever. I don't see how that spin will not stick and I too suspect the public perception will grown to a point were this plane is also branded a lemon.