The Boeing 737 MAX flies again
These are turbulent times in aviation , but for at least one model of aircraft it seems that favorable winds are blowing. And it is that after receiving the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to start the test flights of one of the most problematic aircraft in recent years , the 737Max , Boeing now only has to prove that it is capable of flying safely again thanks to its new flight control software.
Said and done: the pilots have carried out during the last days various flight maneuver tests and emergency procedures to evaluate if the changes comply with the standards of the Federal Aviation Administration and everything seems to indicate that the 737 Max begins to recover not only the flight, but also its production , something that has already happened in your factory Renton, Wash. , where they have been working on the plane since last May, something that will continue gradually, however the American manufacturer has an order book of 3,800 units of the 737 MAX.
Even so, and as published by the New York Times , the crisis of B737Max has dealt a devastating blow to Boeing's business. In January, the company estimated that the costs associated with this crisis would exceed 18 billion dollars , but this was before the disastrous coronavirus spread , who finished nailing the lace. There are three airlines in the United States that operate the Max: Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines, while in Europe, its greatest supporters have been Ryanair and Norwegian , although Air Europa also has an important order placed.
These are not good times for aviation in general or for Boeing in particular r. Even if the flights continue to be successful, it could be months before the planes are considered ready to fly again. If the FAA identifies more problems, Boeing will need to make additional changes in an infinite chain of obligatory security such as that of the air sector.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MAX?
The "improved" version of Boeing's best-selling plane was severely punished in 2019 after a couple of fatal accidents, in Indonesia and Ethiopia , in which 346 people lost their lives . The resulting crisis cost Boeing billions of dollars, including compensation to the victims and also to the airlines. Other collateral damage also led to the dismissal of the CEO of the company , which triggered an unprecedented crisis of reputation about the construction of the Max, always associated with haste and commercial needs.
Both accidents were caused in part by a aircraft anti-jamming software , known as MCAS , that automatically pushed the aircraft nose down , making the device ungovernable. Once the problem that left the entire plant of this Boeing model on the ground was known, the manufacturer has spent all this time working on a solution for the software , although regulators have since identified other problems that are also pending resolution.
AND WHAT HAS CHANGED NOW?
As published by the manufacturer itself on its website, in all these months of exhaustive work "the MCAS system software has been updated with three additional levels of protection, more than 800 test flights and production with the new software for more than 1500 hours ”, among numerous other actions so that your renewed ‘creature’ is, when it receives the permits, safer than ever.
For its part, the FAA has also issued a statement after the test flights in which it makes it very clear that “although the completion of the flights is an important milestone, several key tasks remain, including evaluation of the data collected during these flights ”. The agency is following a very thorough process, and no one doubts that it will take the time to thoroughly review Boeing's work. “We will lift the grounding order only after the FAA safety experts are satisfied that the aircraft meets certification standards ”, they also confirm in said statement.
BOEING VS AIRBUS
In the eternal race who makes the most successful commercial aircraft in the world It seems, at least for now, that Airbus has everything to win . While the competition between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 follows its long-range course B737 does the same with him A320 in short and medium . There is no one who has flown in recent years who has not done so in two models. But what happens between B737Max and the A320neo ? The improved version of the two best-selling commercial aircraft in history is really similar, although due to the crisis in which Boeing has been immersed, Airbus has come out ahead: sold 796 A320neo aircraft in 2019, more than eleven times Boeing's total of 737 orders for 69 aircraft.
In Spain, Iberia Express has just announced that it has already received its first A321neo and this week it will already make its first commercial flight. From the airline they are delighted with the arrival of this new aircraft to their fleet, "a more flexible and comfortable aircraft, with a wider and more modern cabin that implies a 6% improvement in capacity and with 17% more efficient engines Thanks to the use of new technologies, lighter and stronger materials and modern waste disposal systems ”, they confirm.