737 Max8. Safe or not safe?

[mart]

Quite a few countries including the UK have ground the 737 max8 aircraft. All while the USA is saying it is safe.

Some of the guys on here are very informed on technical issues. Would be keen to hear views. Always liked to watch them documentaies on this sort of thing.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=are+737+max+8+safe

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I see Mr on the horizon. Impossible to separate the politics in this one......

 

[mart]

Do you have an opinion on this aircraft Slim?

 

[johnik]

from what i have read on a proper pilot,s web site, the problem was a faulty angle of attack sensor, the sensor thought the plane was climbing too steeply and into a stall so it put the nose down, pilot tries to pull nose up, computer says no and heads downwards again, there is a switch to turn that function off but pilots were not told of this switch.
would i fly in one ?, yup

 

[mart]

A switch to turn it off?
With earlier models of aircraft I wonder if that sort of thing would be sitched off as soon as the auto-pilot was disengaged

 

[mart]

from what i have read on a proper pilot,s web site, the problem was a faulty angle of attack sensor, the sensor thought the plane was climbing too steeply and into a stall so it put the nose down, pilot tries to pull nose up, computer says no and heads downwards again, there is a switch to turn that function off but pilots were not told of this switch.
would i fly in one ?, yup

Are you Japanese?

 

[colnerov]

Hi, Pilots should know better than speculating (gossiping) about the cause, we will have to wait for the accident investigation findings. Yes I know it's frustrating.

Colin

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Do you have an opinion on this aircraft Slim?

Not on the aircraft per se, but if I voiced my opinion as to why America hasn't implemented the ban as other countries have [and it was you who raised the matter]

All while the USA is saying it is safe.

, this thread would be faster than a fast thing going fast.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Hi, Pilots should know better than speculating (gossiping) about the cause, we will have to wait for the accident investigation findings. Yes I know it's frustrating.

Colin

I disagree, as with any industrial accident, specialists within that trade will speculate as to the cause, and generally be right.


As for the grounding, I would imagine that is common practice after several crashes of the same aircraft in similar circumstances. It’s worth noting though that the aircraft that have gone in have been operated by countries that are not traditionally viewed as having particularly stringent safety and training regimes

 

[CompoSimmonite]

It's put me off buying one. I think i'll stick with my square windowed DH Comet.

 

[colnerov]

I disagree, as with any industrial accident, specialists within that trade will speculate as to the cause, and generally be right.

Hi, Oh yes you're right to an extent, A pilot would have an understanding of what could be wrong but a flight engineer would have a better one because they have more technical training than the pilot. What I was meaning was that the mainstream media are in an information vacuum about what the cause is and will be searching for something to report and pilots on a forum should not be aiding that with what could be unguarded comments.

Colin

 

[johnik]

A switch to turn it off?
With earlier models of aircraft I wonder if that sort of thing would be sitched off as soon as the auto-pilot was disengaged

doubt autopilot would be on at that moment in time and the AOA sensor is just another feature that should make the plane safer, but when the computer makes a bad decision and the pilot cant override it....then you have a problem, i have flown a 70,s cessna with rattling doors so fear means nothing to me

 

[voipio]

There was a report on the radio of an eyewitness apparently seeing the aircraft struggling, making a "funny" noise, with one of the engines on fire, which does not square with an angle of attack sensor problem. Not heard or seen that statement repeated, though, so it might be spurious.

 

[mike os]

There certainly appears to be an issue with 2 going down recently. .. could be totally unrelated issues, pilot error, etc .

Pointless speculating, grounding them is usually what happens in these circumstances as no one wants to be in the firing line if another does it.

Given boing's record ... it would be unfair to point too hard at a fatal design flaw at this time, but I would prefer a differrnt plane right now

 

[p0689109]

When the A320 was first introduced you might remember the one that "landed" in a forest at the end of a short runway where it was being displayed by one of the test crew. Being nearly all new technology at the time the crew did not realise that the electronics was not programmed for this sort of display routine and so continued to land! Another instance occurred when Air India lost one as their crews again were confused with how the auto pilot worked and flew it into the ground. I thought that the airline world would have learnt lessons from that and ensured that the flight crews of all nationalities were trained to a industry standard but it seems that might not be the case. So best to wait and see if its people error as in operational or indeed the makers of the aircraft who are at fault. Clearly USA think its the former!

 

[Tom O]

Both Canada and the USA have grounded these planes it was announced this morning due to new info.

 

[ronan]

I am sure the plane was scrutinised and tested at every step of design, and manufacture, to within an inch of its life. There maybe a problem, but i am sure there it will be found very quickly and rectified.

 

[Burdekin]

US just anounced they will stop flying them as well which is the correct decision until they know what caused both accidents and if there is an inherent fault.

 

[knighty]

I heard some kind of air crash investigator being interviewed on radio 4 a couple of days ago, he was very careful to say it's too soon to say for sure, we're just speculation etc.

but he said the same as posted above, there's 2 angle sensors to stop the plane going into a stall nose up which could have pulled the nose down... that fit with radar etc. which showed it going up/down faster that it should have, and also fits with the previously crashed done

he also said it's odd that there's only 2 sensors because an faulty reading could cause something like this... there's normally at least 3 sensors so if the computer gets one odd reading it ignores it and sticks with the other two

the system is new compared to the smaller plane (normal 737 vs 737max) when they made the plane bigger they had to add it (I'm not sure if he didn't say why or I just forgot) also said the crews were not trained with these new systems, hot to turn it off etc.

 

[roofman]

I disagree, as with any industrial accident, specialists within that trade will speculate as to the cause, and generally be right.


As for the grounding, I would imagine that is common practice after several crashes of the same aircraft in similar circumstances. It’s worth noting though that the aircraft that have gone in have been operated by countries that are not traditionally viewed as having particularly stringent safety and training regimes

Ethiopian airlines have one of the safest history's in relation to accidents