Boeing Is Keeping Its Nose Down

...and to the grindstone fixing its MCAS rationale. Here are talking points from CT Post.

·       "Boeing has come under scrutiny in recent months for its failure to disclose the presence of the Maneuvering Characteristic Augmentation System (MCAS) on its Boeing 737 Max airliners. 

·       The existence of MCAS came to light only after the crash of Lion Air Flight JT610 in October.

·       On Monday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg explained why the company didn't disclose the existence of the system to pilots while challenging the media's characterization of MCAS as an anti-stall system.

·       "It's fundamentally embedded in the handling qualities of the airplane. So when you train on the airplane, you are being trained on MCAS," Muilenburg said. "It's not a separate system to be trained on."

So Boeing wanted the 737 Max to handle like the 737 NG and did not correct an automated anti-stall system from calamity. Go to the article's main link above for your further review. The unintended consequence of a nose down crash has caused the death of over 350 passengers and crews. Pilots were unaware of an automated system flying the airplane under certain conditions (like a failed MCAS sensor). Mainly, an MCAS sensor failure followed by an automated system fly-by -inaccurate data condition. The plane crashes while pilots cannot restore it to a flight worthy condition. The president of Boeing is scrambling for the tall grass to save the company.

The fix must go through a long process of flight testing and computer updates. When sensor (s) fail then the pilot is notified of the failure and given complete control of flying under this condition. Secondly, the pilot has a failsafe procedure to recover the aircraft through training if a sensor ever fails again. Finally, there is installed duplicity of sensors if one or both fail the pilot can recover. Automation is only as good as its design or program driving that design. Commercial aviation is not ready for drone travel at this time. A competent pilot with a strong flying skill set is required to override the intent of automation or its failure. In other words, a pilot must be given the mechanisms and ability to fly an aircraft in the event of these kinds of sloppy bottom line thinking. Going out of business is an option but killing innocent passengers is not an option. Boeing must reconcile this kind of corporate mentality towards passenger safety.

No matter how many times Boeing says it was "not our fault nor we didn't know. It is in a dangerous business and should take appropriate measures to assure its product is protected by every means possible. It lacked redundancy with its MCAS system and lacked a professional sense for installing a risky feature for the benefit of giving pilots a sense they are flying a prior model 737. Insanity is the mother of all bad ideas. The president of Boeing has just fallen on his sword, hoping not to bleed to death when he says the system is not an anti-stall mechanism but rather a pilot aid for making the Max feel like its flying like the 737 NG!