Exercise extreme caution

FAA must be careful approving Boeing 737 jets

Federal officials must exercise extreme caution before signing off on plans by the United States’ biggest airlines to resume use of the Boeing 737 Max jet line.

American Airlines announced that it expects to start using the passenger jets in January after the final software updates are approved. Other airlines also are setting resumption dates. But, the Federal Aviation Administration has not said when its clearance to fly the aircraft will come. Its review continues.

Seven months ago regulators around the world grounded the Max aircraft after it had two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. On Oct. 29, 2018, a Lion Air flight plunged into the Java Sea in Indonesia shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 passengers and crew aboard. Five months later, a 737 Max flown by Ethiopian Airlines went down shortly after takeoff in Ethiopia, killing all 157 passengers and crew members aboard.

Investigations in both instances pointed to failures of an anti-stall system known as the maneuvering characteristics augmentation system. It was enacted during the flights, putting the planes into a steep dive, and the pilots either did not know how to override it or were unable to do so.

A panel of international air safety regulators found that the anti-stall system was not evaluated as a complete and integrated function in the certification documents that were submitted to the FAA, which did not require more testing. The Joint Authorities Technical Review, commissioned by the FAA to look into the agency’s oversight and approval of the anti-stall system, also faulted Boeing for assumptions it made in designing the airplane and found areas where Boeing could improve processes.

Boeing knew that its maneuvering software system was susceptible to forcing the plane into a nosedive and it failed to fix it or to properly train pilots on how to deal with the situation.

The manufacturer, since the crashes, has conducted software analyses, lab tests, and simulator verification to be sure the maneuvering system is ready.

Still, investigations of the 737 Max crashes are ongoing. There are numerous inquiries by congressional committees, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General and the Department of Justice’s criminal division.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines has grounded two other types of Boeing jets after finding cracks in parts that connect the wings to the planes’ fuselage. The grounding came after the FAA ordered emergency inspections of some 165 heavily used U.S. planes. Boeing said 38 structural cracks were found in its 737 NG planes, and those planes are to be grounded until fixed.

Given all of this, the FAA must exercise extraordinary caution before putting any troubled Boeing planes back in the air.