The rescue of the Boeing airliner crash of China Eastern Airlines is underway, and Boeing has once again attracted attention due to safety issues.
According to Nandu's previous report, on March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew members, including 8 Chinese passengers, crashed 6 minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa, with the 737 MAX 8 (belonging to the 737MAX series). This is the second crash of the model in six months – on October 29, 2018, Indonesia's Lion Air flight JT610, carrying 189 people, crashed into Java waters 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, carrying the same 737 MAX 8.
Nandu reporter combed and found that since March 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX model has been banned in many places around the world. According to the findings released by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, the two accidents were not the result of a single malfunction, technical error or mismanagement, but a series of erroneous technical assumptions by Boeing engineers.
In fact, in addition to the 737 MAX model, the 737-800 aircraft involved in the Accident of China Eastern Airlines has also had many accidents around the world.
Search and rescue personnel found the wreckage of the plane at the crash site in Fujian County, Guangxi Province, on March 21 (mobile phone photo). Xinhua News Agency
Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed one after another, and was accused of having multiple defects
On March 11, 2019, after two air crashes on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, the Civil Aviation Administration of China took the lead in issuing a notice asking domestic transport airlines to suspend the commercial operation of boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. On March 13 of that year, after grounding the aircraft in more than 55 countries and territories around the world, the FAA announced a ban on the Boeing 737 MAX 8. On March 26, the Civil Aviation Administration of China suspended the issuance of airworthiness certificates for Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. According to an explanation released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in March 2019, only the 737 MAX 8 aircraft imported from the mainland at that time was the 737 MAX 8.
On the morning of April 6, Boeing President Dennis Müllenberg said in a latest statement that deliveries of the 737 MAX model had been suspended. The statement revealed that Boeing will adjust the 737 production system accordingly, focusing on completing software upgrade certification and getting max back into operation.
After suffering a grounding, the 737 MAX model has been repeatedly accused of functional defects.
On May 5, 2019, local time in the United States, Boeing issued a statement on its official website saying that Boeing engineers found problems with the safety alert function on the 737 MAX series aircraft as early as 2017, but the company did not report to the FEDERAL Aviation Administration until the 2018 Lion Air disaster.
Boeing 737 airliner. Xinhua News Agency
In early June, the FAA found that some Boeing 737 airliner wing parts were substandard, involving two major models, the 737 MAX and 737 NG, and a total of 312 aircraft were affected worldwide, including 179 737 MAX and 133 737 NG Boeing aircraft. Boeing President Dennis Müllenberg admitted in an interview that "the problem is related to some Boeing suppliers." ”
In addition, Boeing has been pointed out to have "cut corners" in the design of the 737 MAX Automatic Stall Prevention (MCAS) system.
On June 2, the US media said that the MCAS system of the 737 MAX airliner was originally designed to be transmitted by two sensors during the research and development stage, but in the end", "only one sensor was used, resulting in the lack of security of the system." ”
During an FAA investigation, those involved in the design, testing and approval of the MCAS system said they were "not aware of the changes in the MCAS system and participated in the design, certification and training of the 737 MAX on the assumption that the MCAS system is based on two sensors," the message shows. Some Boeing employees said that their busy schedule and the fact that each person is responsible for only a small part of the aircraft has led to "a lack of complete understanding of critical, potentially dangerous systems."
In addition, during the approval and delivery phases, Boeing did not emphasize changes to the MCAS system for the 737 MAX aircraft to regulators and major operators. This led to the fact that before the October 2018 Lion Airlines crash, "most 737 MAX pilots didn't even know about the existence of this automatic anti-stall system."
The 737 MAX's cockpit warning light issue was disclosed in June 2019. Boeing revealed that in 2017, when the company sold a large number of 737 MAX series airliners to airlines around the world, it thought its cockpit warning lights were suitable for all systems. In May of the same year, Engineers at Boeing found that the warning light would only work if the airline purchased a separate cockpit indication system.
The vast majority of airlines, including Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, did not purchase the cockpit instruction system. This also caused the warning lights of its 737 MAX series airliners to fail.
On June 16, Boeing CEO Millenberg spoke out on the eve of the Paris Airshow, acknowledging that Boeing had made a mistake in the company's cockpit warning lights for the 737 MAX.
On July 22, Fitch and Moody's, two of the world's three major credit rating agencies, announced that they would lower Boeing's rating outlook from "stable" to "negative." The reasons given by the two institutions for the downgrade are that uncertainty about the future resumption of service after the Boeing 737 MAX is grounded is increasing.
On July 24, Boeing's second quarter 2019 financial report showed that Boeing's net loss for the quarter reached $2.942 billion, the largest quarterly loss ever recorded by Boeing, and Boeing's net profit of $2.196 billion in the same period of the previous year. In addition, Boeing's operating income for the quarter was $15.751 billion, compared to $24.258 billion in the same period of the previous year, down 35% year-on-year. Boeing said slowing or suspending production of boeing's 737 MAX series aircraft would cause boeing more losses.
Nandu previously reported that just 18 months after the Ethiopian aviation story, on September 16, 2020, the US House of Representatives released the results of two 737 MAX accidents, saying that the "crash" was not the result of a single failure, technical error or mismanagement, but the consequence of a series of incorrect technical assumptions by Boeing engineers. "The crash was caused by a combination of manufacturer Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)."
The findings confirm the results disclosed by the investigation team of the Indonesian Lion Airlines disaster in September 2019: Boeing's fatal design changes to the 737 MAX to cater to the market and the lack of FAA regulation were the cause of the accident.
Plans to resume flights around the world have been repeatedly delayed, and it is uncertain when to resume flights in China
During the investigation of the accident, the resumption of the Boeing 737 MAX model around the world was also repeatedly delayed. Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines, the three largest suppliers of Boeing 737 MAX models in the United States, have changed the resumption time of the aircraft at the airline several times.
Nandu reporter noted that until November 18, 2020, after 20 months of global grounding, the FAA issued an announcement to lift the ban on commercial operations of Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 9 aircraft, allowing airlines within the jurisdiction of the FAA, including the United States, to take the necessary steps to resume the operation of the aircraft, and allowing Boeing factories to begin delivering this type of aircraft. At the same time, the FAA issued an airworthiness order detailing the requirements that U.S. airlines must meet before resuming operations of the aircraft, including installing software upgrades, completing harness separation and modifications, conducting pilot training, and completely unsealing the aircraft to prepare the aircraft for resumption of operations.
After the flight ban ended, American Airlines announced itself as the first U.S. airline to resume commercial service on the 737 MAX model at the end of December of that year. On December 2, 2020 local time, the company took the lead in test flying a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carrying about 90 people, including American Airlines employees, regulators, media reporters and passengers. The flight was also described by the U.S. media as a "PR flight to restore reputation." ”
The 737 MAX model has also begun to try to resume flights in China.
On December 12, 2019, Liu Lusong, director of the General Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, revealed that the Civil Aviation Administration of China is conducting an airworthiness review of the flight control system of the 737 MAX aircraft, including software design changes, in accordance with the "Sino-US Airworthiness Implementation Procedures".
He reiterated that the three principles for the resumption of operations proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority have not changed. "The first is that changes to the aircraft design are subject to test approval. The second is for drivers to be fully and effectively trained and to restore confidence. The third is that the investigation conclusions of the two accidents that occurred earlier should be clear and the improvement measures should be effective. ”
Boeing logo photographed at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, USA. Xinhua News Agency/AFP
Nandu reporter noted that the official Weibo information of Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport shows that on the morning of August 11, 2021, a Boeing 737 MAX 7 aircraft took off from Shanghai Pudong Airport for a trial flight and landed at Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport at 9:41 on the same day.
On October 28 of the same year, Boeing CEO David Calhoun said optimistically at the company's third-quarter conference call that the Boeing 737 MAX model will be approved by Chinese regulators by the end of 2021 and resume delivery to Chinese airlines in the first quarter of 2022, and the company is now seeking to work closely with the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
On October 30, Boeing's headquarters told Nandu reporters that it is still uncertain when the Boeing 737 MAX model can resume flight in China, but Boeing will continue to cooperate with regulatory bureaus around the world to support the safe resumption of operation of the 737 MAX model around the world.
Subsequently, Nandu reporter learned from the website of the Airworthiness Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China that for the 737 MAX 8 aircraft, the Civil Aviation Administration issued an airworthiness directive for correcting the unsafe state of MCAS on December 2, confirming that the relevant corrective measures of MCAS eliminated the unsafe state. Chen Jianguo, a senior civil aviation expert, told Nandu reporters that the 737 MAX 8 regained its airworthiness license in China does not mean that it will resume flights immediately, and it will take some time for airlines to modify aircraft and pilot training.
On December 6, the Central and South China Regional Administration of Civil Aviation said at the regular meeting that it is necessary to do a good job in the work related to the airworthiness certification of Boeing 737 MAX 8 in an orderly manner, adhere to the concept of zero tolerance for safety hazards and the attitude of being highly responsible for air transport safety in accordance with the requirements and deployment of the Civil Aviation Administration, and urge relevant airlines to further do a good job in aircraft modification, ground aircraft recovery, pilot training and other work, and orderly promote the qualification verification of supplementary operation.
The crashed aircraft of China Eastern Airlines has had many air crashes around the world
The 737 MAX model's return flight time in China is still inconclusive, and Boeing is again embroiled in the storm due to passenger aircraft safety issues.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, on March 21, a Boeing 737 passenger plane of China Eastern Airlines disappeared over Wuzhou while on a flight from Kunming to Guangzhou. At present, the crash of the aircraft has been confirmed. There were a total of 132 people on board, including 123 passengers and 9 crew members.
The wreckage of the plane scattered at the crash site in Fujian County, Guangxi. (Photo taken on March 22, mobile phone photo) Xinhua News Agency
According to the information of the flight standard, the passenger aircraft involved is a B737-800NG passenger aircraft, the registration number is B1791, and the age of the aircraft is 6.8 years.
According to the Civil Aviation Information System, the aircraft first flew in 1997 and received FAA type certification in 1998. In 2002, Hainan Airlines took over its first Boeing 737-800 aircraft with winglets, making it the first user to operate the aircraft in China and asia.
Nandu reporter noted that according to the aviation safety network database data, Boeing 737-800 has had more than 20 accidents around the world.
On March 19, 2016, a Flydubai Boeing 737-800 crashed in rostov-on-Don in the southern Russian city, killing all 61 people on board.
On January 13, 2018, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft owned by Pegasus Airlines of Turkey deflected off the runway during its landing at Trabzon Airport, rushed to the adjacent slope, and nearly fell into the sea. On September 28 of the same year, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft of Papua New Guinea New Guinea accidentally skipped off the runway while landing at Chuk Island International Airport in Micronesia and crashed into a lagoon near the airport, leaving one passenger missing. On October 1, the missing passenger was found and confirmed dead.
On February 5, 2020, a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 airliner slid off the runway while landing at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport, causing severe damage to the fuselage and breaking in three pieces. At least three people were killed and 179 injured, including four Chinese nationals.
On August 7 of the same year, an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 crashed off the runway while landing at Calicut Airport in the southern Indian state of Kerala, crashing into a trench about 9 meters deep, breaking the fuselage in two, killing at least 18 people, including two pilots, and injuring 127 others.
According to Nandu's previous report, on March 1, a cargo compartment fire occurred in the air on the AQ1305 Guangzhou-Yichang flight of Jiuyuan Airlines, and the crew resolutely disposed of it, and with the full cooperation of air traffic control and airport and other relevant units, it was diverted to Changsha Huanghua International Airport at 10:27, and all 105 passengers and crew members on board were safely evacuated. According to the flight information, the aircraft type operating flight AQ1305 on the same day was 737-800.
After the crash of China Eastern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines has now controlled all the aircraft operated by the company's Boeing 737-800 flights on the ground, and will no longer perform flights after the flights in the air land.
In the early morning of March 22, Boeing replied to Nandu reporters that the company was concerned about every passenger and crew member of Flight MU5735 of China Eastern Airlines. We are cooperating with China Eastern to provide support. Meanwhile, Boeing is in contact with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, and technical experts are ready to assist the Civil Aviation Administration of China in its investigation.
Producer: Nandu Instant
Written by: Nandu reporter He Jiahui Yang Tianzhi Fang Shiqi