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On the specific issue of simulator time though, if the simulator behaves basically the same as a Boeing 737 NG, what is the point of putting them through the MA
by ummonk 7y ago
On the specific issue of simulator time though, if the simulator behaves basically the same as a Boeing 737 NG, what is the point of putting them through the MAX simulator? It does seem like a pointless exercise that wouldn't have provided the pilots any extra practice (or crucial knowledge of actual differences like MCAS).
Obviously, now that they're adding checklist practice for emergency scenarios relevant to the 737 MAX, it makes sense to require simulator practice, but I don't think that would have previously made a difference.
- jacobush 7y agoOf course not. It was all part of the same ruse. If the MAX simulator behaved differently, it would have been that much more difficult to say that no training was needed.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoWell Boeing knew that the MAX did not behave like the NG so there's that. Even if the airlines and Boeing went along with that farce there's at least a couple of entries in ASRS where pilots complained that they didn't feel prepared to fly the MAX. One mentioned that the instrumentation was sufficiently different that their usual pattern of visually scanning the instruments did not work with the MAX and that monitoring the instruments in the MAX required significantly more effort. The implication was that additional training and familiarity with the specifics of the MAX would reduce the cognitive load.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoHere's the ASRS entry I was thinking of: I had my first flight on the Max [to] ZZZ1. We found out we were scheduled to fly the aircraft on the way to the airport in the limo. We had a little time [to] review the essentials in the car. Otherwise we would have walked onto the plane cold. My post flight evaluation is that we lacked the knowledge to operate the aircraft in all weather and aircraft states safely. The instrumentation is completely different - My scan was degraded, slow and labored having had no experience w/ the new ND (Navigation Display) and ADI (Attitude Director Indicator) presentations/format or functions (manipulation between the screens and systems pages were not provided in training materials. If they were, I had no recollection of that material). https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2019/03/heres-what-was-on-the-record-about-problems-with-the-737-max/584791/ https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2019/03/heres-what-was-on-...
- ummonk 7y agoWow, that is pretty damning.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoYeah, I'm curious which airline this was. For obvious reasons ASRS anonymizes data but this seems like an end-to-end failure and it's pretty disappointing that the pilot(s) didn't feel comfortable rejecting the plane.