3 ms·

These planes cost nearly $100M each; how can adding another AoA sensor the size of your hand be that much in the grand scheme of things? https://i.kinja-img.co

These planes cost nearly $100M each; how can adding another AoA sensor the size of your hand be that much in the grand scheme of things? https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_original/y2nb9hdebhg9prwmadkt.png https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_original... Note that the 737 already has two such sensors, but only consults one at a time for MCAS, so there'd be a software change required in addition to adding a new sensor.

dmix 8y ago
I'd just imagine coordinating with every airport and airport mechanic team to go through this process, have some integration work with the MCAS which has to be done very carefully and thoroughly. Everything is more expensive when you have a super high level of risk management and are working with large bureaucratic organizations like airlines and the FAA. But yes it's certainly not impossible sounding. It's like a minor recall where the planes get fixed on site.
- CydeWeys 8y ago
  Hundreds of people are already dead because of this. It's the very minimum they can do to prevent more deaths. Whatever the cost is of adding another sensor will be less than the cost of another crash.
sjwright 8y ago
Surely they can predict the expected/likely value of an AoA sensor with all of the other telemetry available to an aircraft computer. Surely in combination with software fixes to ensure that both sensors are factored in, they could augment with that computed value to pick a sensor in the case of disagree. If the needed telemetry is already exposed to MCAS, it could all be fixed in software.
- CydeWeys 8y ago
  MCAS will fly the aircraft into the ground, and has already killed >300 people. These sensors are safety-critical and should not be cheaped out on. A software-only fix is not good enough when the standard in the industry is to have triply redundant systems for safety-critical systems. This is one of those things we learned at the cost of a lot of blood.

dmix 8y ago

I'd just imagine coordinating with every airport and airport mechanic team to go through this process, have some integration work with the MCAS which has to be done very carefully and thoroughly. Everything is more expensive when you have a super high level of risk management and are working with large bureaucratic organizations like airlines and the FAA. But yes it's certainly not impossible sounding. It's like a minor recall where the planes get fixed on site.

CydeWeys 8y ago
Hundreds of people are already dead because of this. It's the very minimum they can do to prevent more deaths. Whatever the cost is of adding another sensor will be less than the cost of another crash.

sjwright 8y ago

Surely they can predict the expected/likely value of an AoA sensor with all of the other telemetry available to an aircraft computer. Surely in combination with software fixes to ensure that both sensors are factored in, they could augment with that computed value to pick a sensor in the case of disagree. If the needed telemetry is already exposed to MCAS, it could all be fixed in software.

CydeWeys 8y ago
MCAS will fly the aircraft into the ground, and has already killed >300 people. These sensors are safety-critical and should not be cheaped out on. A software-only fix is not good enough when the standard in the industry is to have triply redundant systems for safety-critical systems. This is one of those things we learned at the cost of a lot of blood.