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HughPickens.com writes:

Dominic Gates reports at the Seattle Times that until this year, Boeing's Renton plant housed two highly productive assembly lines, each churning out 21 single-aisle 737's per month but in a rabbit-out-of-the-hat transformation, Boeing has now fitted a third assembly line within the same factory space for the new 737 MAX that will allow the production rate in Renton to climb to 52 jets per month in 2018 and possibly past 60 per month by the end of the decade.

"The complexity of this is not so much the changes in the airplane itself, but more about how you weave this new airplane into a factory that's been producing (the current 737) for 19 years now," says Keith Leverkuhn, vice president of the 737 MAX program. Leverkuhn says Boeing will build the first airplanes relatively slowly to understand all the intricacies of the new assembly process, then will ramp up quickly. "The first airplane went together very, very well. The second one is going together even better. This is the closest thing we've got to automotive production (rates)," says Leverkuhn. "We are going to have to hit 52 (jets per month), and it's going to have to happen fast."

[More after the break.]

takyon writes:

The management of Norwegian Air have reiterated a promise to deliver $69 trans-Atlantic flights using the new Boeing 737 MAX 8 airliner, starting sometime in 2017:

According to Norwegian Air chief commercial officer Thomas Ramdahl, his airline is awaiting the aircraft needed for the $69 flights. That's because the first of the 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 airliners Norwegian Air ordered to operate those flights won't be ready for delivery until 2017. The Boeing 737 Max 8 is expected to enter service with launch partner Southwest Airlines during the third quarter of 2017. However, Boeing told Bloomberg's Julie Johnson and Mary Schlangenstein that the planes could be ready for delivery as early as March.

Ramdahl told Business Insider that his airline plans to make an announcement around November or December of this year with firm details of the $69 fares. "I can promise you that you will see trans-Atlantic flights on the 737Max next year," Ramdahl told us in an interview last week. "And that's when you will see the $69 fares."

The 737 MAX 8 features new fuel-efficient CFM LEAP-1B engines, upgraded avionics, and aerodynamics. As as result, the new jet offers airlines the range and performance to operate trans-Atlantic service with the lower cost of a narrow-body jet.

Found at NBF, which mentions other variants of the 737 MAX.

Original Submission

Bot writes:

All 157 passengers of an Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 died today, an accident that looks similar to the Indonesian Lion Air crash which caused 189 victims in October 2018.

The Ethiopian Boeing 737, a brand new plane, lost contact six minutes after departure from Bole International Airport; the 737 departing from Jakarta had done the same twelve minutes after taking off.

In both cases the weather was optimal and the pilots were experts. Ethiopian Airlines has a good safety record.

Both planes belong to the MAX variant, which features a "Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System" software to increase safety. Depending on sensor input, such software lowers the nose of the airplane, to prevent stalling. Investigations into the first disaster suggest the pilot might have had trouble with the automatic systems over this issue.

The two black boxes (with cockpit voice and flight data respectively), are likely to be recovered.

Sources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/ethiopian-airlines-crash-news-latest-death-toll-addis-ababa-nairobi-boeing-737-max-a8816296.html
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/10/second-crash-of-new-boeing-737-max-8-aggravates-safety-concerns/

Original Submission

takyon writes:

U.S. Grounds Boeing Planes, After Days of Pressure

After days of mounting pressure, the United States grounded Boeing's 737 Max aircraft on Wednesday, reversing an earlier decision in which American regulators said the planes could keep flying after a deadly crash in Ethiopia.

The decision, announced by President Trump, followed determinations by safety regulators in some 42 countries to ban flights by the jets, which are now grounded worldwide. Pilots, flight attendants, consumers and politicians from both major parties had been agitating for the planes to be grounded in the United States. Despite the clamor, the Federal Aviation Administration had been resolute, saying on Tuesday that it had seen "no systemic performance issues" that would prompt it to halt flights of the jet.

That changed Wednesday when, in relatively quick succession, Canadian and American aviation authorities said they were grounding the planes after newly available satellite-tracking data suggested similarities between Sunday's crash in Ethiopia and one involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Indonesia in October.

Previously: Second 737 MAX8 Airplane Crash Reinforces Speculation on Flying System Problems

Related: Boeing 737 MAX 8 Could Enable $69 Trans-Atlantic Flights

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Justice Department issues subpoenas in criminal investigation of Boeing

US Justice Department prosecutors have issued multiple subpoenas as part of an investigation into Boeing's Federal Aviation Administration certification and marketing of 737 Max planes, sources briefed on the matter told CNN.

[...] Criminal investigators have sought information from Boeing on safety and certification procedures, including training manuals for pilots, along with how the company marketed the new aircraft, the sources said.

It's not yet clear what possible criminal laws could be at issue in the probe. Among the things the investigators are looking into is the process by which Boeing itself certified the plane as safe, and the data it presented the FAA about that self-certification, the sources said.

The FBI Seattle office and Justice Department's criminal division in Washington are leading the investigation.

See also: FAA: Boeing 737 MAX to get software update
Europe and Canada Just Signaled They Don't Trust the FAA's Investigation of the Boeing 737 MAX

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Pilot Who Hitched a Ride Saved Lion Air 737 Day Before Deadly Crash:

As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 Max 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit.

That extra pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jumpseat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, according to two people familiar with Indonesia's investigation.

The next day, under command of a different crew facing what investigators said was an identical malfunction, the jetliner crashed into the Java Sea killing all 189 aboard.

[...] The previously undisclosed detail on the earlier Lion Air flight represents a new clue in the mystery of how some 737 Max pilots faced with the malfunction have been able to avert disaster while the others lost control of their planes and crashed. The presence of a third pilot in the cockpit wasn't contained in Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee's Nov. 28 report on the crash and hasn't previously been reported.

The so-called dead-head pilot on the earlier flight from Bali to Jakarta told the crew to cut power to the motor driving the nose down, according to the people familiar, part of a checklist that all pilots are required to memorize.

[...] The Indonesia safety committee report said the plane had had multiple failures on previous flights and hadn't been properly repaired.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Boeing takes $5 billion hit as Indonesian airline cancels 737 MAX order

Indonesia's largest air carrier has informed Boeing that it wants to cancel a $4.9 billion order for 49 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Garuda Indonesia spokesperson Ikhsan Rosan said in a statement to the Associated Press that the airline was cancelling due to concern that "its business would be damaged due to customer alarm over the crashes."

Garuda had originally ordered 50 737 MAX aircraft, and Boeing delivered the first of those aircraft in December of 2017. The airline already operates 77 older Boeing 737 models; two of the aircraft ordered were conversions from earlier orders for 737-800s. Garuda also flies Boeing's 777-300 ER, and the company retired its 747-400 fleet in the last few years—so the airline was looking for an economical long-range aircraft to fill in gaps.

Doomed Boeing Jets Lacked 2 Safety Features That Company Sold Only as Extras

As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits. One reason: Boeing charged extra for them.

For Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers, the practice of charging to upgrade a standard plane can be lucrative. Top airlines around the world must pay handsomely to have the jets they order fitted with customized add-ons. Sometimes these optional features involve aesthetics or comfort, like premium seating, fancy lighting or extra bathrooms. But other features involve communication, navigation or safety systems, and are more fundamental to the plane's operations.

Many airlines, especially low-cost carriers like Indonesia's Lion Air, have opted not to buy them — and regulators don't require them. Now, in the wake of the two deadly crashes involving the same jet model, Boeing will make one of those safety features standard as part of a fix to get the planes in the air again.

See also: They didn't buy the DLC: feature that could've prevented 737 crashes was sold as an option

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

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Southwest Boeing 737 Max makes emergency landing in Orlando; FAA cites engine issue unrelated to recent crashes

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

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Initial Findings Put Boeing's Software at Center of Ethiopian 737 Crash:

At a high-level briefing at the Federal Aviation Administration on March 28, officials revealed "black box" data from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 indicated that the Boeing 737 MAX's flight software had activated an anti-stall feature that pushed the nose of the plane down just moments after takeoff. The preliminary finding officially links Boeing's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) to a second crash within a five-month period. The finding was based on data provided to FAA officials by Ethiopian investigators.

The MCAS was partly blamed for the crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX off Indonesia last October. The software, intended to adjust the aircraft's handling because of aerodynamic changes caused by the 737 MAX's larger turbofan engines and their proximity to the wing, was designed to take input from one of two angle-of-attack (AOA) sensors on the aircraft's nose to determine if the aircraft was in danger of stalling. Faulty sensor data caused the MCAS systems on both the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights to react as if the aircraft was entering a stall and to push the nose of the aircraft down to gain airspeed.

On March 27, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Ewell told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee that there had been no flight tests of the 737 MAX prior to its certification to determine how pilots would react in the event of an MCAS malfunction. He said that a panel of pilots had reviewed the software in a simulator and determined no additional training was required for 737-rated pilots to fly the 737 MAX.

What follows is from memory from what I've gleaned from reading several news accounts over the past few weeks. I am not a pilot, so take this with the proverbial $unit of salt.

shortscreen writes:

A 2018 FAA (Federal Aviation Administration directive advised pilots to handle MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) failure by disabling electric control of stabilizer trim using a pair of cutout switches. Pilots would then need to use a hand crank to move the stabilizer back to the desired position. It's noted that previous 737 models had separate switches to disable autopilot and electric stabilizer control, but the 737 MAX lacked this distinction.

Avionics engineer Peter Lemme explains how aerodynamic forces acting on the stabilizer and elevator in a nose-down situation would oppose pilots' attempts to correct the trim using their manual control.

A 1982 Boeing 737-200 Pilot Training Manual acknowledges this possibility, describing a series of maneuvers which can be used to relieve force on the controls and allow incremental correction of trim. However, it's suggested that the Ethiopian Airline plane had already gained too much speed and lost too much altitude for such a maneuver to be possible.

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/04/ethiopian-airline-crash-boeing-and-faa-advice-to-737-max-pilots-was-insufficient-and-flawed.html
https://www.satcom.guru/2019/04/stabilizer-trim-loads-and-range.html

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

[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.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Boeing Co. limited the role of its own pilots in the final stages of developing the 737 MAX flight-control system implicated in two fatal crashes, departing from a longstanding practice of seeking their detailed input, people familiar with the matter said.

As a result, Boeing test pilots and senior pilots involved in the MAX' development didn't receive detailed briefings about how fast or steeply the automated system known as MCAS could push down a plane' nose, these people said. Nor were they informed that the system relied on a single sensor, rather than two, to verify the accuracy of incoming data about the angle of a plane's nose, they added.

See also: https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeings-own-test-pilots-lacked-key-details-of-737-max-flight-control-system-11556877600

Original Submission

McGruber writes:

In an observation piece at Scientific American, Ralph Nader (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader) writes about the decades of struggles by conscientious engineers—whether employees or consultants—who strive to balance professional ethics with occupational survival.

Nader writes:

[...] today's engineers are working in an improved environment for taking their conscience to work. Yet much more remains to be done to safeguard the ability of engineers to speak truth to the powers-that-be.

For starters, the word whistle-blower—once popularly meant to describe a snitch or a disgruntled employee—now describes an ethical person willing to put his or her job on the line in order to expose corrupt, illegal, fraudulent and harmful activities. Indeed, in the aftermath of recent Boeing 737 MAX crashes, the media routinely and positively refers to disclosures by "Boeing whistle-blowers." Congressional investigating committees and federal agencies have called for whistle-blowers to come forward and shed light on corporate misdeeds and governmental agency lapses.

To put it mildly, this was not always the case.

LINK: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/when-engineers-become-whistleblowers/

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Capt. 'Sully' Sullenberger Slams Boeing for Inadequate Pilot Training on the Troubled 737 Max

Airline union leaders and a famed former pilot said Wednesday that Boeing made mistakes while developing the 737 Max, and the biggest was not telling anybody about new flight-control software so pilots could train for it.

Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who landed a crippled airliner safely on the Hudson River in 2009, said he doubted that any U.S. pilots practiced handling a specific malfunction until it happened on two Max jets that crashed, killing 346 people. Max pilots should train for such emergencies in simulators—not just on computers, as Boeing proposes, he said.

"We should all want pilots to experience these challenging situations for the first time in a simulator, not in flight, with passengers and crew on board," Sullenberger said, adding that "reading about it on an iPad is not even close to sufficient."

Sullenberger's comments to the House aviation subcommittee came during the third congressional hearing on Boeing's troubled plane, which has been grounded for three months.

Daniel Carey, the president of the pilots' union at American Airlines, said Boeing's zeal to minimize pilot-training costs for airlines buying the 737 Max jet contributed to design errors and inadequate training. That has left a "crisis of trust" around aviation safety, he said.

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

'Sully' Sullenberger blasts U.S. aircraft certification process, says 737 MAX pilots need new simulator training

Sullenberger, who has blasted Boeing Co and the Federal Aviation Administration for their roles in the two 737 MAX crashes since October that killed 346 people, also said the U.S. system of certifying new aircraft is not working.

"Our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us," he said.

upstart writes in with a submission, via IRC, for SoyCow4463:

Boeing pledges $100M to families of 737 Max crash victims – TechCrunch

Boeing has said it will offer $100 million to the families and communities of those who died aboard the two 737 Max passenger jets that crashed earlier this year. This “initial outreach” will likely only be a small part of the company’s penance for the mistakes that led to the deaths of 346 people.

In a statement, the company said it expected the money to “address family and community needs,” and “support education, hardship and living expenses.”

[...] CEO and president Dennis Muilenburg... earlier this year accepted the blame, acknowledging that “it is apparent that in both flights, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, known as MCAS, activated in response to erroneous angle of attack information.”

[...] This initial payout is voluntary; it is highly unusual for an airplane maker to pay such a sum to the victims of a crash ahead of any lawsuits. Boeing, Airbus and other companies involved in passenger flight have certainly in the past paid damages, directly or via insurance or some other means, but that was generally after a lawsuit forced them to. Sometimes a company will approach families with ready money to prevent them from filing a lawsuit, but that’s not often publicized.

And lawsuits are certainly underway already, with dozens of families bringing suits for each crash. The amounts these could bring are very difficult to predict, but given the loss of life and that the flaws that led to it can be traced directly to mistakes by Boeing, the company could be on the hook for hundreds of millions more.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Boeing falsified records for 787 jet sold to Air Canada. It developed a fuel leak

Boeing staff falsified records for a 787 jet built for Air Canada which developed a fuel leak ten months into service in 2015.

In a statement to CBC News, Boeing said it self-disclosed the problem to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration after Air Canada notified them of the fuel leak.

The records stated that manufacturing work had been completed when it had not.

Boeing said an audit concluded it was an isolated event and "immediate corrective action was initiated for both the Boeing mechanic and the Boeing inspector involved."

Boeing is under increasing scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad following two deadly crashes that claimed 346 lives and the global grounding of its 737 Max jets.

On the latest revelations related to falsifying records for the Air Canada jet, Mike Doiron of Moncton-based Doiron Aviation Consulting said: "Any falsification of those documents which could basically cover up a safety issue is a major problem."

In the aviation industry, these sorts of documents are crucial for ensuring the safety of aircraft and the passengers onboard, he said.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-boeing-changing-max-184231846.html

Boeing is working on new software for the 737 Max that will use a second flight control computer to make the system more reliable, solving a problem that surfaced in June with the grounded jet, two people briefed on the matter said Friday.

When finished, the new software will give Boeing a complete package for regulators to evaluate as the company tries to get the Max flying again, according to the people, who didn't want to be identified because the new software hasn't been publicly disclosed.

The Max was grounded worldwide after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people.

Use of the second redundant computer, reported Thursday by the Seattle Times, would resolve a problem discovered in theoretical problem simulations done by the Federal Aviation Administration after the crashes. The simulations found an issue that could result in the plane's nose pitching down. Pilots in testing either took too long to recover from the problem or could not do so, one of the people said.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1337

American Airlines says it will resume flights with Boeing's 737 Max jets in January

American Airlines will resume flights with Boeing's 737 Max jets in January 2020. In a statement posted online on October 9th, the airline says it expects software updates to result in the beleaguered jet's re-certification by federal aviation authorities "later this year."

Boeing is expected to submit its final certification package to the FAA later this year. Anticipating this, American says it expects to "slowly phase in the MAX for commercial service" starting January 16th, and will "increase flying on the aircraft throughout the month and into February."

The FAA ordered the grounding of all Boeing 737 Max jets after two deadly crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 that killed a total of 346 people. Both crashes have been linked to a piece of software that Boeing had installed on the 737 Max known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

[...]A flight attendants union issued a statement calling on American and other carriers to prioritize safety. "It will be imperative that my members are assured of the complete safety of this aircraft before taking it back up in the air," said Lori Bassani, national president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 28,000 flight attendants at American Airlines. "Our airline crews and passengers deserve to have the highest level of assurances prior to re-entry into the air space. Our lives and passengers' lives depend on it and our lives are not for sale."

Remind me not to fly in January.

[Sure! "Don't fly in January." =) --martyb]

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Review of 737 Max Certification Finds Fault With Boeing and F.A.A.

A breakdown in the nation's regulatory system and poor communication from Boeing compromised the safety of the 737 Max jet before it crashed twice in five months and killed 346 people, according to a damning report released Friday.

Boeing did not adequately explain to federal regulators how a crucial new system on the plane worked, the report says. That system was found to have played a role in the accidents in Indonesia last October and Ethiopia in March.

[...] "This report confirms our very worst fears about a broken system," Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said in an interview. "To put the fox in charge of the henhouse never made any sense, and now we see the deeply tragic consequences."

Hours after the report was released, Boeing's board stripped the company's chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, of his chairman title. The move was the most direct response yet from a board that has resisted shaking up the management team before the Max is flying again, even as pressure mounted inside Boeing to hold someone accountable. The Max has been grounded for more than seven months.

[...] Friday's report, which was put together by representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and nine international regulators, provided the first official detailed account of how federal regulators certified the Max. Lawmakers and federal investigators are still conducting their own inquiries into the design and approval of the jet.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Boeing's 737 Max troubles deepen, taking airlines, suppliers with it:

Boeing shares continued their slide Monday after explosive messages last week revealed a top pilot had concerns about a system on the 737 Max that was later implicated in two fatal crashes.

Several Wall Street analysts downgraded Boeing, fretting about the fallout from the crisis that has barred the manufacturer from delivering its best-selling planes that make up around 40% of its profit.

Boeing's stock was down 3.8% Monday afternoon, shaving more than 80 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but had pared losses from earlier in the session

The messages made public Friday included an exchange from a top Boeing pilot to a colleague in 2016 that expressed his worries about an aggressive flight control system on the Max, whose performance he called "egregious." The pilot, who now works for Southwest, said in the exchange that he "unknowingly" lied to regulators. That same pilot months later told the FAA to remove the system, known as MCAS, from pilot procedures and training materials.

The FAA said Boeing knew about the messages for months and scolded Boeing in a letter for not releasing the documents earlier. Boeing defended its training materials for the 737 Max, which regulators deemed safe in 2017, and said it told regulators on "multiple occasions" about the broadened capabilities of the now-questioned system.

[...]Boeing's board is holding a regularly scheduled meeting in San Antonio that concludes Monday, a spokesman said. The board stripped CEO Dennis Muilenburg of his chairmanship on Oct. 11 to focus on getting the Max back into service.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/17/788775642/boeing-will-temporarily-stop-making-its-737-max-jetliners

Production will stop in January. The jets were grounded after two crashes that killed nearly 350 people. Despite being grounded, Boeing continued cranking the planes out at its factory near Seattle.

(The interview had more good information, but at time of submission, the transcript wasn't available. There may be better articles out there.)

There are. Here's one:

Boeing will suspend 737 Max production in January at CNBC:

Boeing is planning to suspend production of its beleaguered 737 Max planes next month, the company said Monday, a drastic step after the Federal Aviation Administration said its review of the planes would continue into next year, dashing the manufacturer's forecast.

Boeing's decision to temporarily shut down production, made after months of a cash-draining global grounding of its best-selling aircraft, worsens one of the most severe crises in the history of the century-old manufacturer. It is ramping up pressure on CEO Dennis Muilenburg, whom the board stripped of his chairmanship in October as the crisis wore on.

The measure is set to ripple through the aerospace giant's supply chain and broader economy. It also presents further problems for airlines, which have lost hundreds of millions of dollars and canceled thousands of flights without the fuel-efficient planes in their fleets.

Boeing said it does not plan to lay off or furlough workers at the Renton, Washington, factory where the 737 Max is produced during the production pause. Some of the 12,000 workers there will be temporarily reassigned.

Previously:

*SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

Boeing's 737 Max Troubles Deepen, Taking Airlines, Suppliers With It
Review of 737 Max Certification Finds Fault With Boeing and F.A.A.
American Airlines Says It Will Resume Flights With Boeing’s 737 Max Jets in January
AP Sources: Boeing Changing 737 Max Software to Use 2 Computers
Boeing Falsified Records for 787 Jet Sold to Air Canada
Boeing Pledges $100M to Families of 737 Max Crash Victims
Capt. 'Sully' Sullenberger and Boeing 737 Max News
Boeing’s Own Test Pilots Lacked Key Details Of 737 Max Flight-Control System
Boeing CEO Defends 737 Max Flight Control System
Analysis: Why FAA-Approved Emergency Procedures Failed to Save ET302
Initial Findings Put Boeing's Software at Center of Ethiopian 737 Crash
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max Flight Makes Emergency Landing (While Carrying No Passengers)
Airline Cancels $4.9 Billion Boeing 737 MAX Order; Doomed Planes Lacked Optional Safety Features
Pilot Who Hitched a Ride Saved Lion Air 737 Day Before Deadly Crash
DoJ Issues Subpoenas in 737 Max Investigation
Boeing 737 Max Aircraft Grounded in the U.S. and Dozens of Other Countries
Second 737 MAX8 Airplane Crash Reinforces Speculation on Flying System Problems

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Runaway1956:

Pressure on FAA to approve its 737 Max jets backfires for Boeing:

A bust-up between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration, the US regulator, has backed the aviation giant into a corner over the future of its 737 Max aircraft.

The aerospace group said last week that it would halt production of the plane in January after the FAA refused to authorise its return to service until 2020. The Max was grounded around the world in March following two fatal crashes, blamed on new anti-stall software, that claimed 346 lives.

Sandy Morris, an aerospace analyst at Jefferies, said the FAA's tougher stance with Boeing and its refusal to rush the plane back into service suggested the Max would not be approved until summer at the earliest.

"My guess is that it's at least another six months [until certification] and may even be longer. It could be a year. If there were another incident, Boeing would be toast. So it feels like it's going to get done properly."

Original Submission

barbara hudson writes:

CBC is reporting that Boeing's CEO is gone. While offially he resigned, there's little doubt he had much say in the matter.

Boeing's chief executive officer has been forced out by the board of directors amid continuing problems with the company's troubled Max 737 aircraft.

The Chicago manufacturer said Monday that Dennis Muilenburg is stepping down immediately. Board chairman David Calhoun will take over as CEO on Jan. 13.

There's the usual platitudes about believing in the MAX8 and the company's future under "great new leadership ", but what else could they say?

See also: Boeing fires CEO after disastrous year with 737 MAX

Original Submission

barbara hudson writes:

I know, yet another Boeing story. But it's like herpes — the gift that keeps on giving.

The same day that Boeing CEO Muilenburg crashed and burned as Boeing CEO, the criminal investigation into Boeing heated up, with Boeing's test pilot hiring criminal lawyers and refusing to turn over documents to the Department of Justice under the 5th amendment, saying in effect that turning them over "may tend to incriminate him."

The embattled US aircraft maker Boeing has reportedly sent US regulators "troubling communications" related to the development of the 737 MAX – on the same day that the CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, was forced to step aside.

According to a senior Boeing executive, the documents include new messages from Mark Forkner, a senior company test pilot who complained of "egregious" erratic behavior in flight simulator tests of Boeing's MCAS anti-stall system, and referred to "Jedi mind tricks" to persuade regulators to approve the plane.

The executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Seattle Times that the Forkner communications contain the same kind of "trash talking" about Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) regulators as the earlier messages released in October.

So what would make Forkner, the test pilot, lawyer up?

Forkner, meanwhile, has reportedly hired his own criminal defense lawyers and invoked his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid turning over records to the Department of Justice, which has opened a criminal inquiry into the company's handling of the 737 Max's development.

It was Forkner who requested that information about MCAS be omitted from flight manuals and pilot training, rendering the pilots of both the doomed Lion Air and Ethiopian flights helpless when the system kicked in, pushing the plane's nose down repeatedly until they ultimately lost control.

But the timing of the latest information release is likely to increase anger surrounding Boeing's handling of the crisis, even as a new CEO, David Calhoun, takes the reins early next year.

[Ed Note - Emphasis added by submitter]

takyon writes:

Boeing: internal emails reveal chaos and incompetence at 737 Max factory

[On] Thursday hundreds of pages of internal messages were delivered to congressional investigators in which Boeing executives mocked their regulator, joked about safety and said the Max had been "designed by clowns".

Shocking as the emails are, they will come as no surprise to those following the Boeing story. Last month Edward Pierson, a former senior manager at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, told Congress he had witnessed "chaos" at the factory where the Max was built and had warned management that "Boeing was prioritizing production speed over quality and safety". His warnings were ignored.

Boeing Mocked Lion Air Calls for More 737 Max Training Before Crash

Indonesia's Lion Air considered putting its pilots through simulator training before flying the Boeing Co. 737 Max but abandoned the idea after the planemaker convinced them in 2017 it was unnecessary, according to people familiar with the matter and internal company communications.

The next year, 189 people died when a Lion Air 737 Max plunged into the Java Sea, a disaster blamed in part on inadequate training and the crew's unfamiliarity with a new flight-control feature on the Max that malfunctioned.

[...] "Now friggin Lion Air might need a sim to fly the MAX, and maybe because of their own stupidity. I'm scrambling trying to figure out how to unscrew this now! idiots," one Boeing employee wrote in June 2017 text messages obtained by the company and released by the House committee.

In response, a Boeing colleague replied: "WHAT THE F%$&!!!! But their sister airline is already flying it!" That was an apparent reference to Malindo Air, the Malaysian-based carrier that was the first to fly the Max commercially.