How Grounding of 737 MAX Could Affect You

Last week, the world reacted in shock and horror when a Boeing 737 MAX crashed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After two years of very few serious aviation incidents, the continent of Africa was enjoying a good safety record. Furthermore, the flight was operated by Ethiopian Airlines, a company with a very strong track record itself. None of it made sense.

Nevertheless, the flight to Nairobi was tragically interrupted right after its takeoff. Air traffic controllers immediately noticed an issue; the plane was accelerating in an unusual trajectory. Pilots reported an issue, and then contact was cut off. Data indicated that the plane’s vertical speed was volatile.

All in all, the flight ended up being only six minutes. It wasn’t long before the wreckage was seen, and it was obvious that there were no survivors. There were 157 people onboard the 737 MAX — 149 passengers and eight crew — and they hailed from 35 nations in total. The charred wreckage of the flight has made it a difficult task to identify any human remains and the loved ones of the victims of Flight 302 are demanding answers as to how this horrifying incident could have occurred with a new plane.

The Lion Air Crash

Of course, it wasn’t long before aviation experts on TV started asking the difficult questions. After all, for a relatively new plane model, the 737 MAX had had a troubling track record thus far. It was only in October of 2018 when Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea, causing the deaths of 189 souls. It was another routine flight — scheduled from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang.

This flight lasted only 12 minutes in the air. And the same aircraft had apparently experienced similar issues on its previous flight. After the wreckage and data were analyzed, it quickly became obvious that there was a big problem with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Boeing and the FAA put out warnings in the wake of this tragedy, but it doesn’t appear as if any priority was placed on the advisories. Sadly, it wasn’t until the next 737 MAX crashed that proper attention was paid to the issue.

Online, Anonymous Pilot Postings Reveal a Pattern of Problems with the 737 MAX

The United States has been fortunate in that none of its 737 MAX fleets have crashed so far. With American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest all operating these planes, many passengers have flown on them. And although the planes should have been operating without any incident, especially since they were brand new, anonymous U.S. pilots started reporting strange issues on a federal database for aviation chatter. One indicated that he had struggled with picking the nose of the plane back up after it pitched down for no apparent reason.

One co-pilot detailed an odd experience he’d endured while flying the 737 MAX. During takeoff, after the autopilot was engaged, the nose of the plane pointed downward. After the co-pilot took quick action and disengaged the autopilot, the flight continued normally. It is interesting to note that both of these incidents seem to mimic that of the doomed aircrafts — a nose mysteriously pitched down. Luckily for the flight crew and the passengers, however, they were somehow able to dig their way out of trouble in the air, avoiding the horrendous catastrophes that had plagued both Ethiopian Air and Lion Air.

The 737 MAX-A Questionable History

In the push to get the 737 MAX up in the air, it is believed that some critical flaws may have been overlooked during the approval process. The aforementioned MCAS is what safety experts are carefully combing over in the aftermath of the two plane crashes.

Upon further inspection, it was found that MCAS was able to move the tail of the plane four times as much as was previously thought. This is very concerning to those who are investigating the incidents, as it would appear that the plane has been self-correcting by pitching its nose down in order to avoid a stall situation. There were also problems with the way the angle-of-attack sensor was communicating with the rest of the plane.

With the data that experts have right now, it is believed that this tiny sensor played a big role in both plane crashes. Analysts have also noticed that the MCAS appears to have been resetting itself every time a pilot reacted, further complicating issues even more. What’s even more troubling is that both the FAA and Boeing appear to have been briefed on these issues — before the second crash even occurred.

What Role Did the United States Government Play?

In the wake of the second crash, Donald Trump tweeted that he believed modern planes’ complexities were to blame for the crashes. Meanwhile, others pointed to his cozy relationship with the CEO of Boeing. While several other western governments grounded their 737 MAX jets in the wake of the second crash, the United States held off for much longer. Many cited Trump’s personal relationship with the Boeing chief as the reason why America had been reluctant to ground the planes.

Eventually, however, an executive order was issued to temporarily take planes out of commission. Even though the aircraft seemed to only exhibit the dangerous problems during the takeoff phase of flight, all 737 MAX planes were required to land immediately, regardless of where they were.

Does Boeing Have Too Much Power?

In the wake of this crisis, many have been questioning why Boeing has been allowed to exert so much power in regard to the oversight of its own airplanes. And it would appear that the answer is quite simple. The FAA, which had been strapped for resources, was continually pressured to delegate more of the oversight responsibilities to Boeing itself.

At the time, it’s important to note that there was a big competition going on. Boeing’s biggest competitor, Airbus, was on track to launch its fuel-efficient, state-of-the-art A320neo into the stratosphere. And Boeing did not want to be left in the dust, so the company continually pushed to get approvals for the 733 MAX. The shutdown of the U.S. government is also believed to have impacted the situation. Back in January, pilots warned that critical safety issues were being ignored due to the shutdown; sadly, it appears that they were right.

How Will Air Travel Fare in the Wake of These Disasters?

Many travelers shrugged off the idea of the planes being grounded at first, especially those who keep an eye on the model numbers of the planes they usually use to commute. With only 24 of these models in the American Airlines fleet, it doesn’t initially seem like such a big deal that they are out of commission.

After all, American Airlines operates 950 mainline planes in its fleet. However, there is a trickle-down effect happening. Airline experts are comparing the situation to what would happen if there were a big blizzard somewhere on the East Coast. While the rest of the flights are operating, there are just a lot more passengers that need to be shuffled and placed on other planes. Of course, travelers will not be told that their original plane was supposed to be a 737 MAX. Instead, the airline will replace it with another. But Southwest and American Airlines cannot conjure passenger jets out of thin air, and the process has been time-consuming and difficult.

300 Flights a Day: Cancellations and Other Fallout

Between the three airlines that operated the 737 MAX, these planes were ferrying passengers on about 300 flights per day. Now, those 300 flights need to be taken into consideration. With no other options in certain circumstances, some flights have been canceled. And not all of the flights that were being canceled were even supposed to be on a 737 MAX. In the chaos of reshuffling, many flights have been affected.

Even if you know that your Los Angeles to Philadelphia flight takes place on an Airbus 321, you may want to check with the airline to ensure that everything is happening according to schedule and that there are no delays. If, for instance, that Airbus was forced to pick up the slack for a grounded 737 MAX, then it may not arrive at your gate on time.

Attention to Strategy

In order to juggle all of the passengers and make sure that everyone gets to their destination in a timely fashion, these three airlines are pulling out all the stops behind the scenes. For passengers flying on United, American or Southwest in the very near future, it may behoove them to check in with the airline prior to the flight. Although this situation may seem like an inconvenience to travelers, it certainly is a positive thing that the 737 MAX is being given a very thorough inspection and update before being sent up into the skies again.