Grounding of 737 MAX a lesson for Boeing
- The US Federal Aviation Administration is right in principle and practice not to budge a millimetre until the standards on which it built its reputation have been fully and faithfully observed and complied with
The grounding of Boeing’s new 737 MAX aircraft last March was far from straightforward, despite two fatal crashes within five months. In the end, United States President Donald Trump had to order the Federal Aviation Administration to act under pressure from passengers, pilots and lawmakers. That did nothing for the FAA’s reputation for setting the standard for global airline safety, given that part of its role is to certify design of the US manufacturer’s planes. Meanwhile, Beijing, Hong Kong and dozens of other governments and carriers had taken the initiative by grounding the plane.
If the FAA’s apparent reluctance were justified, it should have been vindicated in a sense long ago with the return to service of Boeing’s biggest seller and passenger aviation workhorse. Instead, Boeing has announced what would have seemed unthinkable when the aircraft was grounded – it will suspend production of the 737 MAX next month in the continuing fallout from crashes soon after take-off in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people.
Boeing’s board took the decision after the FAA refused to approve the jet’s return to service before 2020, saying it would continue to work with global regulators to review proposed changes to the aircraft. “Our first priority is safety, and we have set no time frame for when the work will be completed,” it said. Boeing has now found itself unable to continue producing 42 planes a month that have nowhere to go. That is a blow to the 12,000 employees at the plant south of Seattle where the plane is built, though they have been assured of no lay-offs at the moment, and for the thousands employed in the global supply chain for parts.
The whole tragic affair carries a lesson for Boeing and rival Airbus, under pressure from the aviation industry to build lighter, more fuel-efficient planes that are cheaper to operate. Investigations of the two crashes have revealed faulty software supposed to correct pitch during flight after engines had been mounted higher and further out along the wings. Issues include pilot training and operating manuals. In the interests of all airline passengers, the FAA is right in principle and practice not to budge a millimetre until the standards on which it built its reputation have been fully and faithfully observed and complied with.
