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posted by chromas on Tuesday April 30 2019, @11:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-not-my-fault dept.

[CEO Dennis] Muilenburg said Boeing is making "steady progress" on a fix to the MCAS flight control system that's at the center of crash investigations in Ethiopia and Indonesia, but he stopped short of faulting the software's basic design.

"We've confirmed that it was designed for our standards, certified for our standards and we're confident in that process," he said. "It operated according to those design and certification standards. We haven't seen a technical slip or gap."

Preliminary reports from both crashes suggest that the MCAS system, which is designed to push the Max's nose down under certain flight conditions, was receiving erroneous data from faulty sensors. In both accidents, flight crews struggled unsuccessfully to take control as the airplanes continually dove just after takeoff.

In his remarks, Muilenburg said the incorrect data was a common link in a chain of events that led to both crashes. It's a link Boeing owns and that the software update will fix.

"[The update] will make the aircraft safer going forward," he said. "I'm confident with that change it will be one of the safest airplanes ever to fly."

Without elaborating Muilenburg also said that in some cases pilots did not "completely" follow the procedures that Boeing had outlined to prevent a crash in the case of a MCAS malfunction.


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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by rob_on_earth on Tuesday April 30 2019, @12:53PM (2 children)

    by rob_on_earth (5485) on Tuesday April 30 2019, @12:53PM (#836649) Homepage

    previous code was only for making the aircraft safer going backwards.

    The value of safety while the aircraft was travelling sideways is handled by a third-party.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 30 2019, @04:31PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 30 2019, @04:31PM (#836754)

    will make the aircraft safer ...

    He didn't say anything about making it safe

  • (Score: 3, Touché) by bob_super on Tuesday April 30 2019, @06:56PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday April 30 2019, @06:56PM (#836815)

    I'll board the one with updated code that makes it safe going down.
    I'm afraid of grounds.