The "death flight" Boeing 737 MAX finally survived until the ban was lifted, but there was bad news of a "hole in the air", and the president of Boeing was about to cry!
In October 2018 and March 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded for 18 months in two fatal air crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was the first to ban the 737 MAX in March 2019 and suspend deliveries until January 2023.
Not long ago, Liu Qing, president of Boeing China, wrote in an article that with the cooperation of Boeing and the customer team, since the 737 MAX was approved to resume flying in January 2023, all 737 MAX of Chinese airlines have resumed operation in the past year, with a number of about 100 aircraft.
Boeing is of course pleased with this, saying that the full return of the 737 MAX will add more benefits to Boeing's operations.
But this joy, I'm afraid I'm going to cry again before I get up, because the plane has an accident again.
Boeing plane hole bad news
On January 5, 2024, a Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane of Alaska Airlines suddenly exploded on its way to Ontario, California.
From the photos revealed on social media, it can be seen that a piece of the fuselage of the plane disappeared, and the originally sealed hatch suddenly "said goodbye", a large hole was broken in the cabin, and the passengers were so frightened that they did not dare to move
Flightradar24, a flight information provider, said in an article posted on its website that exterior photos of the aircraft showed what appeared to be a separation from the aircraft during the flight.
At the time of the accident, the airliner was flying at an altitude of more than 16,000 feet, only half of the normal cruising altitude, and fortunately there were no people in those seats.
But the strong air currents still sucked a boy's clothes away from his body, leaving the mother to hold the boy tightly. Others had their phones and clothes sucked out of the cabin.
One passenger said that she fell asleep when she got on the plane, and when she woke up to find that the atmosphere was wrong, she thought it was turbulence, but after a closer look, she found that the plane had broken a big hole......
The frightened passengers hurriedly put on the cabin oxygen masks amid the urging of the flight attendants.
The captain also immediately contacted the tower via radio and said that the plane was depressurized, and the captain said that "we have declared an emergency" and that the altitude needs to be lowered to 10,000 feet.
Fortunately, after 20 minutes of flight, the plane made an emergency landing at Portland Airport, and all 171 passengers and six crew members on board were unharmed.
In terms of condition, it is clear that the Boeing 737 MAX is a very new aircraft.
In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the aircraft had just received single-aircraft airworthiness certification and rolled off the assembly line on October 25, 2023.
It's only been about two months, and I didn't expect something to happen.
In this regard, the Boeing technical team also rushed to the scene non-stop to investigate the specific cause.
Regardless of the outcome, it is foreseeable that this accident will undoubtedly deal a major blow to the return of the Boeing 737 MAX.
Because whenever a rapid decompression accident occurs, it is a major safety incident.
On the other hand, Alaska Airlines has said that all the Boeing 737 MAX with the same model as the accident has been suspended, and the number is as high as 65.
Dead airliner 737MAX
In fact, the Boeing 737 MAX has always been a safety hazard, also known as a "death liner".
In October 2018, a Boeing 737 Max plane of Indonesia's Lion Air crashed shortly after takeoff.
The plane was flying from Jakarta to Pinang with 189 people on board, including passengers and crew.
Unfortunately, in this accident, all the people on board were killed.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the aircraft may have suffered from issues related to the flight control system, which caused the aircraft to lose control and eventually crash.
Then, in March 2019, another similar tragedy struck. This time it was an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane that crashed shortly after takeoff.
The plane was a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi with 157 people on board, including passengers and crew.
Similar to the Lion Air accident, everyone on board was killed in the crash.
Preliminary investigations pointed to the same flight control system problem as the Lion Air accident, namely the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) of the 737 Max aircraft.
Together, the two accidents point to serious problems with the Boeing 737 Max's flight control system, raising deep concerns about the safety of the aircraft worldwide.
Subsequently, the aircraft was widely grounded around the world and its design and certification process was thoroughly reviewed.
In March 2019, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was the first to announce the grounding of 97 737 MAX aircraft in China, followed by many countries around the world, and a few days later, Boeing announced that it was suspending 737 MAX deliveries.
Boeing suspended production of the 737 MAX in January 2020 due to the inability of civil aviation regulators to authorize its commercial operation in the near future.
The two accidents not only caused huge financial and reputational damage to Boeing, but it is said to cost billions of dollars.
It has also had a profound impact on the global aviation industry, triggering investigations into Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, such as the lack of transparency and poor regulation in the development of aircraft.
Until November 18, 2020, some national aviation authorities, such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, India and other countries and regions, began to resume the flight license of the 737 MAX series passenger aircraft.
They are said to have flown hundreds of thousands of flights to date and have not reported similar problems with the MCAS system or the aircraft itself.
However, China is still very cautious about whether the 737 MAX can return to flight.
On December 2, 2021, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued an Airworthiness Directive for the 737 MAX to correct the unsafe state of MCAS, confirming that MCAS-related issues have been resolved.
Subsequently, several major domestic airlines began to carry out relevant test flights of the 737 MAX, and in September 2022, experts from the Civil Aviation Administration of China held a review meeting with Boeing to prepare for the subsequent resumption of flights.
In January 2023, China said that the Boeing 737 MAX officially resumed flight.
China is Boeing's most important overseas market, and the resumption of the 737 MAX in China may greatly boost Boeing's performance in the Chinese market.
But this time, the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane had another accident, and I'm afraid we have to reconsider the matter of returning to flight.
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In any case, after all, Boeing aircraft are foreign products, and it is an indisputable fact that negative news has repeatedly appeared.
This was a "lucky accident", but what about next time? Who can guarantee that it will be fine!
In the future, as the commercial operation of domestic C919 large aircraft becomes more and more extensive, it is still expected that domestic goods can compete!