The crew of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max declared an emergency shortly after takeoff and returned to Orlando's main airport on Tuesday after reporting an engine problem, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The FAA grounded this type of aircraft earlier this month following two fatal crashes of the popular model.
Airlines aren't allowed to fly passengers under the FAA's order. The Southwest plane, which was not carrying passengers, was bound for Victorville, Calif., where the carrier is storing the aircraft in a facility in the western Mojave Desert.
[...] The FAA said it is investigating the Southwest incident on Tuesday and that the issue was not related to other concerns about the 737 Max that led the agency to ground the plane.
Also at CNN.
See also: Boeing is handling the 737 Max crisis all wrong
Previously: Second 737 MAX8 Airplane Crash Reinforces Speculation on Flying System Problems
Boeing 737 Max Aircraft Grounded in the U.S. and Dozens of Other Countries
DoJ Issues Subpoenas in 737 Max Investigation
Pilot Who Hitched a Ride Saved Lion Air 737 Day Before Deadly Crash
Airline Cancels $4.9 Billion Boeing 737 MAX Order; Doomed Planes Lacked Optional Safety Features
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday March 27 2019, @02:30PM (4 children)
But the Starliner capsule will be safe to fly to the ISS.
The SLS will fly humans on its maiden voyage -- if it ever has one.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday March 27 2019, @02:44PM (3 children)
Not true. EM-1 [wikipedia.org] is still planned to be an unmanned mission.
They are scheduled to launch humans on the second mission. Point out that other rockets require more stringent testing before humans can fly on them? Well, it's OK, because..... it reuses Shuttle parts!
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday March 27 2019, @03:09PM
Ah, okay. I had heard or read hints otherwise. And it was not hard for me to believe that SLS could get some special kind of exception.
After all, what are a few human lives when the cost of a single SLS test / demo launch is a billion dollars!
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday March 27 2019, @06:10PM (1 child)
Wait until we get the new 2024 "Moon during my presidency" schedule.
At the rate they can build and launch SLS, and given they probably won't get a cash infusion, they're definitely going to cut corners somewhere and not test every piece once before putting live bodies on board.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday March 27 2019, @06:43PM
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/26/18282598/nasa-mike-pence-vice-president-space-policy-lunar-landings-2024-gateway-sls-orion [theverge.com]
The Pence speech potentially ties into the previous story: White House Budget Request Would Move Launches from SLS to Commercial Providers [soylentnews.org]
But the SLS is propped up by Congress and is still central to the Moon plans:
Struggling with flat budgets, they say. It would be nice to see orbital BFR tests this year so that these articles are forced to mention it and not just Falcon Heavy. Under the current plans [wikipedia.org], Yusaku Maezawa and artists would fly around the Moon in 2023, sooner than any 2024 activity and probably sooner than an Orion crew launch (scheduled for 2022, expected to slip).
It's like the orbital profile was chosen as another jab at SLS (hopefully a nail in the coffin).
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