The Boeing 737 MAX, within just a couple of years, has already cemented itself as one of the most complicated engineering challenges of the 21st century. Over the course of these blog entries, I will be exploring the issue as a whole and making an attempt to evaluate points of view on the subject that are often overlooked by popular media.
Today, it is time to start at the the beginning, what is happening with the Boeing 737 MAX jet airplanes?
The first Boeing 737 twin jet went into service in the year 1968. This model has been the most successful commercial airplane to date, but it is now under threat of being eliminated entirely, or even sending the company into bankruptcy.
Airbus, a French airplane manufacturer and the second largest producer of commercial jet aircraft in the world, is quickly growing to challenge the dominance of Boeing in the aerospace industry. Complications with the 737 MAX could force that issue even more quickly than could have been imagined. In 2010, Airbus released the A320 neo, a comparable mid-sized airplane to compete with the latest models of the Boeing 737. This new model stood out from Boeing competition because it fitted a similarly sized aircraft with a much larger and much more efficient engine. Airlines were thrilled. Not only could they make their trips quicker, they could spend less money on fuel getting there. For Boeing, this airplane release came as a surprise. In the past, every time that Airbus would release something new, Boeing would always have a counter of their own to compete and generate sales that continued the company moving forward. This time was different. Instead of being prepared, Boeing was not ready. While a project was in the works to design an entirely new airplane, that development was planned for significantly farther in the future. Given the circumstances, Boeing was threatened with losing out on an entire market of airplanes, the largest segment. The answer was clear, either find a solution, or risk the future of the company.
This is where the 737 MAX came in. Instead of engineering an entirely new airplane, Boeing could try the same formula that had worked so well for Airbus. Fit a newer and more efficient engine to the tried and tested frame of a 737. While there were some changes to the airplane body, the majority of the switch from the previous model, the 737 NG, to 737 MAX, came from an engine swap. Now, Boeing could pitch a new product to airlines and stay competitive in the industry.
One of the primary reasons for reusing the 737 body was the fact that it would be able to get into the air very quickly because procedures by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) would not require that a substantially similar aircraft go through an entirely new certification. By creating a new design, the FAA would require a review that can be a multiple year process. By the time the airplane was ready to fly and pilots had trained to use it properly, it would all be too late. Airbus would take over the market and Boeing would lose their share. The 737 MAX was the perfect answer for Boeing and all of their problems.
This story would be over if not for the events that have ensued over the past two years. On October 29th, 2018, a Lion Air flight crashed after takeoff in Indonesia. This was the first time that a crash of the 737 MAX had occurred and the 189 people who were onboard all died. Unfortunately the bad news did not stop there. On March 10th, 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX jet crashed, this time killing 157 people who were onboard. (“Timeline”) Two accidents of this nature within such a short period of time was an anomaly and needed to be investigated.
In order to comply with the FAA and not require new training for the 737 MAX, Boeing decided to implement a system called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) in order to make the 737 MAX act like other 737 aircraft in manual flight situations. (“737 MAX Software Update”) While the engineers thought that this would make airplane flight nearly identical to past models, there was some confusion among pilots, as well as a tendency for the sensor that the system ran on to fail. The flaws were obvious after the crashes, but those lives can no longer be saved.
Each party and each person who researches these cases can come to a different conclusion of what caused the crashes and who is to take the blame. Right now, all 737 MAX aircraft are grounded until there is sufficient evidence for the FAA that they can perform safe flight. The situation is not necessarily black and white, and most likely, blame is deserved on all parties involved.
Currently, I would not be able to form a definitive opinion on who I believe deserves the blame the most. I hope that as I continue to research this topic and form an outlook for myself, that you, the reader, will see not only the perspective that I am building, but also form your own beliefs from the facts and arguments I present. Question what I am saying and find a truth in the situation for yourself. Discuss in the comments what it is that you find. The introduction today is to show how many variables are at play. No opinion is wrong in a case as complex as this. However, we may all learn to change our beliefs as our knowledge expands.
References:
“737 MAX Software Update.” Boeing, www.boeing.com/commercial/737max/737-max-software-updates.page.
Hepher, Tim. “Why Airbus Isn’t Pouncing on Boeing’s 737 MAX Turmoil.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 30 Apr. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-boeing-strategy-analysis/why-airbus-isnt-pouncing-on-boeings-737-max-turmoil-idUSKCN1S51SI.
“Timeline: Boeing 737 Max Jetliner Crashes and Aftermath.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 23 Dec. 2019, www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-viz-boeing-737-max-crash-timeline-04022019-story.html.
Amir, Amir R., and Stanley I. Weiss. “Boeing Company.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Boeing-Company.
Reading through this blog was actually super interesting to me because this was one of those topics that I had always read about in headlines or notifications on my phone, but never taken the time to sit down and actually read about. After reading this post, no matter how much more in depth you are going to go, I already feel as though I understand the situation so much more. I never realized that there was a battle of business competition, or failed hardware because of this rush, or that it risked Boeing’s standing in the aviation industry.
Though this situation reminded me of the launch of Salyut 1, the first space station to be launched into orbit. Not just because it involved some sort of flying craft, but because of the pressures that surrounded it. Salyut 1 was launched at the height of the space race in 1971, in direct response to the American moon landing, just two years later. The launch was prompted in a similar pressurized situation where the Soviet Union felt that their status as the alleged “greatest space program” in the world was being overtaken, so they rushed to launch this innovative space station. Though problems ensued just shortly following the launch when the USSR launched its first manned rocket to the station, though a hatch was broken, and nobody could enter. Shortly after, a second mission was launched, and all of the members were killed on re-entry.
The Boeing and USSR Space Race story lines of competition driving poorly made products and machines to lead to death is a common story. Ultimately, the story (minus the death part) is what runs democracy and capitalism. The idea that innovation is driven by healthy competition is a true one, though when it becomes rushed and poorly regulated is when it leads to disaster.
https://www.space.com/16773-first-space-station-salyut-1.html
What an interesting case to compare this to! Although I am responding to your comment in particular, I thought it was intriguing how almost all of us found a similar case to compare this situation too. In particular, I like how you touched on the economic aspect of these types of situations. I think understanding the financial repercussions of our actions is incredibly important. I think for the Boeing case, it is very critical that we moderate the economic aspect to ensure that there are not brutal consequences of our actions.
Similar to Ryan, I also was unaware of the competition between Airbus and Boeing, or the financial difficulties that Boeing faced due to the competition. As I was reading about this aviation mystery, the first thought to come to my mind was the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. While it is not believed that this tragedy was due to an engineering mistake or a rush in production, this tragedy is yet to be solved after nearly six years. This airline disaster, which took place on March 8, 2014, killed the pilots, all 10 flight attendants on board, and all 227 of the passengers on the flight were killed when this airplane mysteriously crashed in an unknown location. Just as the flight was entering the Vietnamese air-traffic jurisdiction, about 30 minutes after takeoff, they were directed to come in contact with the Vietnamese air-traffic control. The pilots never came in contact with air-traffic control again. About five seconds after entering Vietnamese air space, its transponder dropped from the screens of Malaysian air traffic control. Around 40 seconds later, the airplane disappeared from secondary radar. At the time the plane disappeared from all contact with air-traffic control, it was only 39 minutes into the flight. As air-traffic control continued to try to come in contact with the aircraft, they made no successful attempts. An emergency response was set up about 5 hours after the disappearance of the aircraft, this was a protocol that should have been followed within an hour of the disappearance of the aircraft. Once emergency recovery efforts were put into place, this mission was being attempted by 34 ships and 28 aircrafts from seven different countries. After a lengthy search for the remains of the aircraft, it was unsuccessful. It is believed by many that the aircraft had most likely shattered into millions of pieces as it crashed. While the initial attempts at recovering the plane were unsuccessful, pieces of debris were later found in multiple different places. While several different pieces of debris have been found, the first of this debris was found on July 29, 2015, over a year after the disappearance of flight 370. In a world full of so much advanced technology, it is shocking and quite scary, to see that some aviation incidents go unsolved.
Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/mh370-malaysia-airlines/590653/
I really liked your response because this event totally went unnoticed. I definitely share similar concerns about some aviation incidents going unsolved for such a long time. It was definitely interesting to include the lack of protocol followed during these events. A lot of that day could have been changed with more communication and delegation.
First, I would just like to say that you did a really great job with writing this blog. I will confess that before reading this blog, I can say that I really did not know anything about this situation. You did a really nice job at explaining, the description of the conflict was very clear and I really like how your organized the blog. In particular, I really liked how you began with the context that boeing was on top of the aviation game at the beginning of the 21st century and then brought up their competition, and then explained the fall of Boeing. Overall I felt very informed while reading this post and I felt like I could start to form my own opinions.
When I got to the part about the two crashes I was reminded of a similar tragedy that I just talked about in one of my other classes, the Challenger. We talked about the Challenger in my meteorology class this week because it was just the anniversary of the accident. One of the things we talked about was how the weather had a huge effect on the outcome of the Challenger. The day it launched, it was record cold in Florida and the winds were higher than usual. The cold weather and wind caused a break in the seal of the O-ring of the booster. The O-ring was supposed to seal sections of the booster, but because it was so cold, the seal was broken and gas was let out when it was not supposed to be (The Weather Network, 2019). This made me think that maybe the accidents, while tragic, of the 737 MAX were no single person’s fault. Maybe similarly to the Challenger, the plane could not withstand cold temperatures. However I think the company was completely correct in not flying more planes, similarly to how NASA has not sent any humans up in space since. I am curious to follow the rest of your blog, because having a monopoly of who produces airplanes would not be a good idea.
Work Cited:
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/how-record-cold-weather-caused-1986-nasa-challenger-disaster/94472
I think your response was super interesting mainly because I almost wrote about the Challenger too and I would have written the exact same thing you did. I think it is super interesting how these human errors that these companies and organizations make stand out more than their achievements sometimes
Before reading this blog, I didn’t really know much about many of the aviation tragedies that have happened over the years other than the few that have gotten extreme media attention. Your comment about the Challenger and the tragic events that caused it to crash really intrigued my interest in learning more about the events that took place. I also thought that your thoughts on the original post about the 737 MAX made a good connection between the events that happened after both scenarios with the grounding of all 737 MAX aircrafts and NASA’s decision to not send more humans into space.
This is something I would like to make clear before I continue on with my blog to make sure that I do not mischaracterize the situation. Right now, Boeing is still the largest aerospace company in the world, and while the situation with the 737 MAX is certainly a hit to their business, I do not believe that this is their downfall. The company still has plenty of life in it, and probably a bright future ahead. This “fall” is probably less of a fall and more of a single step down a flight of stairs.
Over the last few years, in light of the recent crashes, I have paid attention to Boeing as a company, specifically looking at Quarterly and Yearly Earnings. Boeing has been all over the news, whether it be new allegations, or the rapid decrease in stock price of the company. What first comes to mind is the competitive market of plane manufacturing. Airbus and Boeing are the two most powerful companies in respect to these processes. What would happen if one would leave the market? Certainly, in the event of Boeing, Airbus would almost have perfect market monopolization. This means, that because Airbus is the only plane manufacturing company in the market, they can set market price for consumer. Now obviously, the average person isn’t buying planes. if the flight companies are spending more money for planes, they will most certainly charge their customers more money, leading to all sorts of problems.
Although, it’s easy to throw aside Boeing because of the tragic events involving their planes. The hard truth, is, that we need them. We need Boeing to not only produce planes for us but also at the same time be a successful competitor in the market. As of right now, Boeing is constantly losing money because of their grounding. If Boeing doesn’t gain clearance in the near future, the company will have to reduce production. This means they will cut costs and people will lose their jobs. Though, that’s only the beginning. With such a big company, who has had such dominance for so many years, it would be quite difficult to adjust, and revamp Boeing to develop a product more successful than its competitor. On top of that, Boeing is losing money. How far will this go? Will they have to borrow money? Boeing is already one of the biggest US companies so every action directly affects our economy, most notably, GDP. Looking from another angle, how are we, as the consumer, even more directly affected. It could be several more months until Boeing is back up and running. How might that affect scheduling issues for when planes should have been delivered or finished? Millions of people who need flights for various reasons, may have a tougher time finding their flight. With more competitions fighting for plane seats, companies can drive up profit and make more money, taking advantage of us. With all the new systems Boeing has to implement, how time will be spent training the pilots the new systems of control aboard the plane. The clock is ticking, and we are running out of time.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed reading your blog. You briefly touched on the competition between the two companies, Airbus and Boeing, and their direct relationships in the market. I can’t wait to see where your Blog goes, and looking from a fiscal sense, how much time does Boeing have until it is too late? After all this bad news regarding Boeing, I am still hopeful for the company. They were obviously not seeking for people to die. Recently, Boeing has been portrayed as the “bad guy” and I hope that viewpoint changes overtime to one more forgiving. We need Boeing and Boeing needs us just as much.
Works Cited:
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744795154/as-737-max-grounding-drags-on-boeings-bottom-line-takes-a-hit
Your point of view on the financial aspect of this entire situation is very interesting, and one that I am still hoping to present in the coming weeks. Right now, I am still not entirely positive how much pressure engineers felt to release a new innovation, but it was certainly a factor. Although it appears that Boeing is tanking right now, which to some extent they are, at this point, there is not a large possibility that they will go out of business. With vast financial resources and one of the now largest inventories in the world from having millions to billions of dollars locked up in grounded 737 MAX jets, I believe that Boeing still has a long time before any more serious events occur. Definitely something for me to explore though!