U.S. lawmaker seeks Boeing whistleblowers, some MAX 737 orders in jeopardy

By David Shepardson and Cindy Silviana

 

An aerial photo shows several Boeing 737 MAX airplanes grounded at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

 

WASHINGTON/JAKARTA (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker on Friday urged current or former Boeing Co and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees to come forward with any information about the certification programme for the 737 MAX, which has suffered two fatal crashes in five months.

 

Boeing and the FAA are under global regulatory scrutiny over software and training on the signature aircraft. Boeing risked losing a $6 billion order for the jet on Friday, its first since the world's entire fleet was grounded last week.

 

Indonesian airline Garuda said it plans to scrap its order because some passengers are afraid to board the plane, although industry analysts said the deal was already in doubt.

 

In the United States, the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio urged people to use the committee's whistleblower web page.

 

"It is imperative we continue to ensure we have the highest level of safety for the travelling public," DeFazio said.

American Airlines pilots were preparing to test Boeing's planned software upgrade for an anti-stall system on MAX simulators this weekend, saying they want their own safety guarantees on the software fix.

 

The 737 MAX was Boeing's fastest selling jet before an Ethiopian Airlines crash near Addis Ababa on March 10, which followed a Lion Air crash in Indonesia on Oct. 29.

 

Ethiopian and French investigators have pointed to "clear similarities" between the two crashes, which killed 346 people, putting pressure on Boeing and U.S. regulators to come up with an adequate fix. No direct link has been proven between the crashes but attention has focussed on whether pilots had the correct information about the "angle of attack" at which the wing slices through the air.

 

Ethiopia has shared limited information with foreign investigators, Reuters reported on Thursday, and an industry source said Boeing had not yet received any black box and voice recorder data.

 

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, on Friday raised concerns in a letter to the FAA about regulations that allow aircraft manufacturers to effectively self-certify the safety of their planes and "left the fox guarding the henhouse."

 

The FAA declined to comment.

 

The U.S. Justice Department opened a separate investigation this week. The FBI has declined comment.

 

Garuda CEO Ari Askhara told Reuters on Friday: "Many passengers told us they were afraid to get on a MAX 8."

 

However, the airline had been reconsidering its order for 49 of the narrowbody jets before the Ethiopian crash, including potentially swapping some for widebody Boeing models.

 

Southeast Asia faces a glut of narrowbody aircraft like the 737 MAX and rival Airbus A320neo at a time of slowing global economic growth and high fuel costs.

 

"They have been re-looking at their fleet plan anyway so this is an opportunity to make some changes that otherwise may be difficult to do," CAPA Centre for Aviation Chief Analyst Brendan Sobie said.

 

Indonesia's Lion Air has also said it might cancel 737 MAX aircraft, though industry sources say it is also struggling to absorb the number of planes on order.

 

GRAPHIC: Boeing 737 MAX deliveries in question interactive - https://tmsnrt.rs/2Hv2btC

 

RETROFITS

 

Boeing now plans to make compulsory a light to alert pilots when sensor readings of the angle of attack do not match - meaning at least one must be wrong -, according to two officials briefed on the matter.

 

Investigators suspect a faulty angle-of-attack reading led the doomed Lion Air jet's computer to believe it had stalled, prompting its anti-stall system, called MCAS, repeatedly to push the plane's nose down.

 

Norwegian Air played down the significance of the compulsory light, saying that, according to Boeing, it would not have been able to prevent erroneous signals that Lion Air pilots received before their new 737 MAX plane crashed in October.

 

Boeing must be cautious with how it characterizes the safety alert, risking legal claims by saying it could have made a difference in the crash while not wanting to suggest that the retrofit is meaningless, legal experts said.

 

The Lion Air plane did not have the warning light installed, and Ethiopian Airlines did not immediately comment on whether its crashed plane had the alert.

 

But the Ethiopian carrier, whose reputation along with Boeing's is at stake, issued a statement on Friday emphasizing the modernity of its safety and training systems, with more than $500 million (£378.6 million) invested in infrastructure in the past five years.

 

The Ethiopian crash has set off one of the widest inquiries in aviation history and cast a shadow over the Boeing 737 MAX model intended to be a standard for decades.

 

Boeing did not comment on the plan to make the safety feature standard, but separately said it was moving quickly to make software changes and expected the upgrade to be approved by the FAA in coming weeks.

 

Experts said the change needs regulatory approval and could take weeks or months. Regulators in Europe and Canada have said they will conduct their own reviews of any new systems.

 

Boeing shares have fallen 14 percent since the Ethiopian crash.

 

GRAPHIC: Grounded 737 MAX fleet interactive - https://tmsnrt.rs/2O6jQbI

 

GRAPHIC: Ethiopian Airlines crash and black boxes - https://tmsnrt.rs/2ChBW5M

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-23

 

 

Garuda talking about people being afraid to fly? lol Have they recently earned the right to even land in the USA? 

21 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

Garuda talking about people being afraid to fly? lol Have they recently earned the right to even land in the USA? 

What has landing in the US got to do with it ? The 737 Max does not have that range to fly from Indonesia to the US directly.  Garuda are saying that their customers are afraid to fly in the plane - Something you couldn't quite grasp about that statement ?

Edited March 23, 20197 yr by geoffbezoz

Just now, geoffbezoz said:

What has landing in the US got to with it ? The 737 Max does not have that range.  Garuda are saying that their customers are afraid to fly in the plane - Something you couldn't quite grasp about that statement ?

 

I am saying for years Garuda was considered so unsafe they couldn't get certified so it is ironic. They were the last airline any person in their right mind would fly because of their egrecious safety record.

1 minute ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I am saying for years Garuda was considered so unsafe they couldn't get certified so it is ironic. They were the last airline any person in their right mind would fly because of their egrecious safety record.

But not anymore since they evolved. Since 2009 they have received safety certification to fly anywhere. Guess Garuda and their passengers are more concerned about the 737 Max'x dubious flight control systems then others are willing to let on to.  The investigators in the US are now asking for Boeing whistle-blowers to come forward so it appears that there is a high level of concern perhaps that Boeing have been non-compliant in some areas. 

The FBI has started an investigation into criminal negligence by Boeing. 

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I am saying for years Garuda was considered so unsafe they couldn't get certified so it is ironic. They were the last airline any person in their right mind would fly because of their egrecious safety record.

The actual issue is, for years Boeing were considered safe, now that is in question.

 

I do understand that people who hold Boeing stock may wish to discuss other matters. 

I did read recently (sorry, cannot cite) of an earlier Lion jet that experienced the same difficulties. It was apparently saved by an experienced pilot, riding in the jump-seat, who knew what to do.

1 hour ago, John1012 said:

Is that the same FBI that held an investigation into the illegal use of computer equipment by a certain Hilary Clinton?

Yes and the same FBI that disregarded reports from a field agent that wanted to open an investigation on one of the future 9/11 highjackers   who in flight school and only wanted to learn how to fly a passenger jet but not how to land one. I dont know why Trump has not fired that total 7th floor at FBI hdqs. Any way this link is from actual pilots  

 

https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/619272-ethiopian-airliner-down-africa-102.html#post10423122

 

 

I booked my next domestic flights with Air Asia Airbuses instead of Lion Air Thai. Currently, I find no information on the Lion Air website, whether there 737 Max 9s are still grounded or not. 

A troll post and the replies have been removed. 

It seems the planes that crashed only had 1 AOA sensor and if you want 2 sensors, Boeing charge extra.
One would imagine that, at a minimum, Boeing will now have to install 2 AOA sensors on all the 737 Max planes   .......and then if the readings from each AOA sensor do not match, a light will warn the pilots

Correction: The Boeing 737 MAX has 2 AoA sensors in the front of the aircraft but the MCAS computer system only took readings from one of the sensors

A troll post has been removed. 

5 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

I am saying for years Garuda was considered so unsafe they couldn't get certified so it is ironic. They were the last airline any person in their right mind would fly because of their egrecious safety record.

"... for years..."

5 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Garuda talking about people being afraid to fly? lol Have they recently earned the right to even land in the USA? 

Afraid to fly with Garuda >>>>not surprised>>> did it once >>>> never ever ever again

Boeing seem to have a ot to answer for. Will be interesting to see how all this unfolds.

2 hours ago, tomacht8 said:

I booked my next domestic flights with Air Asia Airbuses instead of Lion Air Thai. Currently, I find no information on the Lion Air website, whether there 737 Max 9s are still grounded or not. 

Unfortunately the communication of the Thai authority (CAAT) is quite poor.

Last entry from March 13, suspended until March 20.

Lion Air probably afraid to even mention the 737 MAX keyword on their site.

 

But the "planespotter" site shows all 737 MAX of Lion Air "stored".

And they would be mad if they flew one.

https://www.planespotters.net/production-list/search?fleet=Lion-Airlines&manufacturer=Boeing&type=737&fleetStatus=current&p=3

 

Quote

Stored	-	Temporarily or permanently stored (withdrawn from use)

 

Edited March 23, 20197 yr by KhunBENQ

7 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

7 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Garuda talking about people being afraid to fly? lol Have they recently earned the right to even land in the USA? 

What has landing in the US got to do with it ? The 737 Max does not have that range to fly from Indonesia to the US directly.  Garuda are saying that their customers are afraid to fly in the plane - Something you couldn't quite grasp about that statement ?

Edited 7 hours ago by geoffbezoz

 

damn, i wish i could also be an "intellect" here on tvf.  kudos

i personally will NEVER fly on a 737 Max and I am sure there are many, many other prospective customers around the world with the same concern. BYE BYE BOEING!

It is no secret corporate America now influences the decisions made in Washington DC:  FDA, DOD, USDA... and now the FAA has been exposed. These government departments are not to play politics over ones safety. (and this dilemma will continue as long as politicians ( especially the present Republicans) cater to big business over their constituents back home.

Edited March 23, 20197 yr by toenail