• US regulator failed to ground Boeing 737 Max despite risks

    From Larry Dighera@21:1/5 to All on Fri Dec 13 05:18:21 2019
    https://www.ft.com/content/04f6f45e-1c2c-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4

    US regulator failed to ground Boeing 737 Max despite risks
    FAA’s analysis showed aircraft was more accident-prone than others

    Ed Pierson, a former senior manager on the 737 production line: 'Right
    now all my internal warning bells are going off' © Bloomberg

    Kiran Stacey in Washington DECEMBER 11 2019
    The US aviation regulator failed to ground Boeing’s fleet of 737 Max
    aircraft even after its own analysis showed it was far more
    accident-prone than most aircraft.

    A study commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration following
    the first of two fatal accidents involving the Max showed that the
    aircraft was likely to crash much more than would normally be
    expected, a congressional committee revealed on Wednesday.

    The findings were revealed during the latest in a series of hearings
    into the two accidents, which have caused one of the biggest crises in
    Boeing’s history

    Following the study — which predicted that, without changes, the
    aircraft could be involved in a fatal accident every two or three
    years — the FAA issued an emergency notice telling pilots what to do
    should the anti-stall system fail, as happened in the Indonesia Lion
    Air crash in October 2018. But it only ordered a complete grounding of
    the aircraft after a second accident in March 2019, involving a Max
    jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines.

    Peter DeFazio, the Democratic chair of the House transportation
    committee, criticised the FAA for failing to act sooner. “Despite its
    own calculations, the FAA rolled the dice on the safety of the
    travelling public and let the 737 Max continue to fly,” he said.

    Stephen Dickson, the head of the FAA, defended his organisation’s
    actions, saying they had acted according to the best analysis they
    had.

    An FAA spokesperson said separately: “A Transport Aircraft Risk
    Assessment Methodology is one of several safety tools regularly used
    by the FAA to analyse safety issues. The FAA’s Corrective Action
    Review Board relied on Taram results — as well as information from the
    ongoing investigation into the accident of a Boeing 737 Max in
    Indonesia — to validate the agency’s immediate decision to issue an
    Emergency Airworthiness Directive.”

    At Wednesday’s hearing, a Boeing employee told the committee that he
    was rebuffed by the company after repeatedly warning about safety
    problems with its aircraft before two 737 Max jets crashed within
    months of each other, killing 346 people.

    Documents published by the committee https://docs.house.gov/meetings/PW/PW00/20191211/110296/HHRG-116-PW00-Wstate-PiersonE-20191211.pdf
    showed that Ed Pierson, a former senior manager on the 737 production
    line, sent a series of emails and letters to the company’s leadership
    urging them to shut down production.

    “I witnessed a factory in chaos and reported serious concerns about
    production quality to senior Boeing leadership months before the first
    crash,” he said in written testimony. “I formally reported again
    before the second crash. No action was taken in response to either of
    my reports.”

    In both crashes, sensors on the 737 Max jets appeared to have failed, triggering a fault in the anti-stall system.

    Mr Pierson said: “[Angle of attack] sensors have a long history of
    reliability. No one has asked why two brand-new AOA sensors on two
    brand-new planes inspected, installed, and tested by Boeing at the
    Renton plant during the summer of 2018 failed.”

    For the first time in my life, I’m sorry to say that I’m hesitant
    about putting my family on a Boeing aeroplane

    Ed Pierson, former senior manager on the 737 production line
    He added that production errors might also have plagued other models
    of aircraft. “No one has investigated whether the hundreds of other
    planes manufactured during the summer of 2018 at Renton — including
    the currently flying 737 Next Gen aeroplanes and P-8 military
    aeroplanes — have faulty AOA sensors or other production quality
    issues.”

    Mr Pierson sent the first of his email warnings in June 2018, four
    months before the first of the two accidents. In a message to Scott
    Campbell, who was head of the 737 programme, Mr Pierson wrote:
    “Employees are fatigued from having to work at a very high pace for an
    extended period of time. This obviously causes stress on our employees
    and their families. Fatigued employees make mistakes.

    “My second concern is schedule pressure (combined with fatigue) is
    creating a culture where employees are either deliberately or
    unconsciously circumventing established processes.”

    He added: “Right now all my internal warning bells are going off. And
    for the first time in my life, I’m sorry to say that I’m hesitant
    about putting my family on a Boeing aeroplane.”

    Boeing continued to run the 737 production line despite Mr Pierson’s
    warnings, as the company raced to keep up with its European rival
    Airbus.
    https://www.ft.com/content/53b2142a-4711-11e9-b168-96a37d002cd3

    Boeing denied Mr Pierson’s suggestion that production faults could
    have caused the two Max accidents.

    A company spokesperson said: “The suggestion by Mr Pierson of a link
    between his concerns and the recent Max accidents is completely
    unfounded. Mr. Pierson raises issues about the production of the 737
    Max, yet none of the authorities investigating these accidents have
    found that production conditions in the 737 factory contributed in any
    way to these accidents.”

    The company added: “Mr Pierson did the right thing by elevating his
    concerns, and the fact that he was able to personally brief the head
    of the programme and the company’s general counsel demonstrates
    Boeing’s commitment to safety and to hearing employee concerns.”

    Mr Pierson retired later in 2018, but even after his retirement, he
    continued to write to Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s chief executive, as
    well as the company’s board, urging them to close down 737 production
    because of the safety concerns he identified. The documents show that
    while he had several conversations with senior Boeing managers, he did
    not consider their responses adequate.

    Mr Dickson said on Wednesday that the Max, which was grounded across
    the world following the second accident in March, would not be cleared
    to resume service until 2020.

    He told CNBC: “There are a number of processes, milestones, that have
    to be completed. If you just do the math, it’s going to extend into
    2020.”
    ---------------------------------------------------------------

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  • From Geoff Rove@21:1/5 to Larry Dighera on Tue Oct 20 13:46:04 2020
    On Friday, December 13, 2019 at 7:18:37 AM UTC-6, Larry Dighera wrote:
    https://www.ft.com/content/04f6f45e-1c2c-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4

    US regulator failed to ground Boeing 737 Max despite risks
    FAA’s analysis showed aircraft was more accident-prone than others

    Ed Pierson, a former senior manager on the 737 production line: 'Right
    now all my internal warning bells are going off' © Bloomberg

    Kiran Stacey in Washington DECEMBER 11 2019
    The US aviation regulator failed to ground Boeing’s fleet of 737 Max aircraft even after its own analysis showed it was far more
    accident-prone than most aircraft.

    A study commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration following
    the first of two fatal accidents involving the Max showed that the
    aircraft was likely to crash much more than would normally be
    expected, a congressional committee revealed on Wednesday.

    The findings were revealed during the latest in a series of hearings
    into the two accidents, which have caused one of the biggest crises in Boeing’s history


    American wants to fly NYC to Miami with the Max. Hopefully the route is close to
    emergency landing sites. Don't stray too far over the Ocean AA.

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