737 Max

On March 8, 2017, the FAA granted Boeing an amended type certificate for the 737 Max 8, the 12th derivative of the 737 and the first successor aircraft to the 737 NG series. The first fatal crash of a Lion Air 737 Max 8 occurred just 17 months later near Jakarta, Indonesia. Another Max 8, […]

David Calhoun assumed the role of Boeing’s CEO only one week ago, but his plate of problems was already full because of the chaos surrounding the company’s beleaguered 737 Max. Recent news following the ousting of Calhoun’s predecessor Dennis Muilenburg has only continued to darken the credibility cloud hanging over the company. Some industry sources […]

The Monday, December 16, 2019, announcement at Boeing’s Chicago headquarters of the company’s plan to halt 737 Max production in January 2020 was not much of a surprise to anyone. Despite the troubled airplane’s grounding in March 2019, America’s top manufacturing exporter continued building 42 airframes each month, creating a backlog of more than 400 […]

For Boeing, 2019 has evolved into the worst year for the company’s reputation in its history, beginning of course with the grounding last March of the 737 Max over the airplane’s faulty MCAS (maneuvering characteristics augmentation system). Since then, the company has continued building new 737 Max aircraft at the rate of 42 per month […]

Aviators understand that aircraft accidents seldom occur because of a single misstep in the human or technological chain. They usually occur when a flight crew is overwhelmed by multiple human or technological failures within a short time span. The Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi of Indonesia, also known as the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), issued […]

Handling emergencies and unusual situations is a significant part of learning to fly and remaining current to fly any airplane. Flight training can’t possibly teach pilots how to handle every single event they could encounter, however. With that concept in mind, pilots are often taught to look for the similarities between one event and another […]

Aware that this column will have new developments by the time it goes to print, I hesitated to write about the subject. But I felt ­passionate enough that it would be a ­disservice to readers if this particular ­airline guy didn’t weigh in, especially for ­someone that spent an entire jet career flying Boeing products. […]

Boeing and FAA have found an additional software issue on the 737 MAX, separate from the MCAS problem, that will require additional time to fix, as Boeing disclosed in a securities filing on June 26. “The Federal Aviation Administration has asked The Boeing Company to address, through the software changes to the 737 MAX that […]

Former Delta Air Lines executive Steve Dickson faced heated questions in the Senate on Wednesday about whether regulators could have done more to prevent two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets. Dickson, who was senior vice president of flight operations at Delta until his retirement last October and a former F-15 fighter pilot, is […]

Just ahead of tomorrow’s Congressional hearing by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee into the current status of Boeing’s 737 MAX, the U.S. Justice Department last week issued a subpoena for documents related to the aircraft according to Bloomberg. Southwest Airlines, United Continental Holdings and American Airlines Group all received subpoenas. Jon Weaks, president of […]