Is a Boeing 737 MAX the safest plane in service?

What a f'ing mess.

On a separate issue, the FAA should stick it to Boeing on their request for an exemption for the engine deicing feature. Boeing should be treated like they're on probation, no exemptions, no infractions, no leniency. Nail their asses to the wall until they get their act together. Maybe by 2030 or so.

 

And the 777X has folding wingtips…….how confidence inspiring /-;

 

I understand the 4 "door motion restrictor" bolts should easily have done their job had they been installed correctly, and there are 1000s of planes flying around with similar designs, they just seems like an inelegant solution.

A removable stopper strip between the inside top edge of the door and fuse frame would accomplish the same thing.

The function of those bolts w/ castle nut and cotter pin remind me of this safety pin I use to lock down the ball-hitch release handle on my trailer, no tools required:
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What function is that and why in your opinion do you seem to be dismissive of the combination being able to perform it?

 

I'm not dismissing the effectiveness of properly installed bolts, I just don't love that solution to keeping the door in place.
Probably/maybe also the most cost-effective way, but still seems somehow hack-ish to use bolts as retaining pins.

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NTSB Finds Missing 737 Max 9 Door Plug in Teacher’s Backyard - FLYING Magazine

Guess the National Transportation Safety Board Chair was referring to a dorm refridgerator

 

lol, bolts ARE retaining pins. If you fasten to pieces of material together (with bolts) you are retaining them from separating

 

Not really - they typically provide tension to keep two parts together and/or shear resistance. The config above imparts a bending stress in addition to shear.
Were you one of the designers of this door plug in the 1950's?

 

I still dont quite understand how can these purely mechanical connections/latches manage to keep this door plug "airtight"?

 

There is a (rubber/fabric) seal around the edge of the door that makes it airtight.

This plug is very similar (really exactly the same) as the entry door that you pass through when boarding any commercial airliner. Take a look next to you take a flight.

 

At least on this 737 main door the lifting/latching mechanism looks to be a rotating cam pin/roller on the door side.
The door has to first move inwards, then be "cocked" so the seals around the edges can slip through the frame opening.
Similar looking "stop fittings" to the current plug/door design, to keep it sealing the fuse opening unless first swung inward.
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United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have discovered loose parts on Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets that they have inspected after a near-catastrophe on a flight Friday, signaling Boeing’s issues go beyond the aircraft that made an emergency landing.

Is this poor design working loose? Or what other loose bolts are there thought Boeing g aircraft yet to be discovered u till it goes worng

eiter way not good

 

As if the world wasnt complex and concerning enough, all we needed now is a "possible" case of Corporate greed allied with deliberately lowering QA/QC controls directly impacting the public's safety, all under the FAA's dismissal of facts, to please Wall Street's expectations.....
Did I miss anything?

 

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lol. but what about the mechanism and all its retaining pins (fasteners w/castle nuts and cotter pins) all kinds of points of failure

 

not sure what you're laughing about - I never said that bolts acting as retaining pins wouldn't work or be reliable, assuming they're designed and installed correctly.
If it'll end this pissing match, you win.
The plug/door is an effective and elegant design

Now, let's see the inside of that free-falling plug/door and what exactly is amiss with all the other 737-9s out there.

 

been going on at Boeing for a decade or more.
After tow planes that worked really hard to nosedive into he ground and killed everyone, the mess that is the new 777 project, numerous quality issues with he 787 needing reworking, total bailout during covid due to idiotic decisions previously which raped the company of value, the starline reprograms years late and still not functioning, cooperate exhortations that the corner is tuned new management yad yada yada, we're apparently not done yet.

And those are just the things we know about, all of which have come to light due to failure, not honesty.

 

Don't forget Boeing's relatively new strategy of trying to kill their unionized workforce by moving to non-union states.
Bean counters and Execs with huge stock-performance based bonuses aren't interested in long-term company health.

 

Oh c'mon. Boeing is not the only game in town. GULFSTREAM it to your next destination!

 

I'm not smart enough or informed enough to comment on the 737 MAX door/panel issue. But, having worked at Boeing from 1980 to 2012, I would like to comment on the Boeing culture and how it changed over the decades that I was there. It’s a long story, so I’ll do it in parts.

Part 1


When I hired on in May of 1980 it was Heritage Boeing - the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company (BCAC) headquartered in Seattle. The HQ was located across the street from Boeing Field, which happened to be where I started my career, at Flight Test. They were manning up to certificate the "new" 767 and needed folks who knew something about airplanes. As an ex-USAF pilot with an engineering degree, I fit the bill. The people that I came into contact with in Flight Test, including pilots, engineers, technicians and mechanics, took extreme pride in what they were doing. They all strived to ensure that Boeing gave the customer the best and safest airplane in the world. Bar none. And they were able to do that, and meet schedules, because virtually everything was done in house, locally. No red tape or suppliers on the other side of the world to create the kind of delays that we have seen with the 787. My stint in Flight Test lasted about 3 years, working on 767 and 747 projects, but then the work ran out, so I hid out in Boeing Aerospace for a year where, even though it was still Boeing, it felt like a different company (Government contracts). As soon as Commercial Airplanes picked up again, I transferred to Flight Deck design at the Everett facility outside Seattle.
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Blancolirio (777 pilot)


.

 

You’re the guy with the colorful tie, right?

 

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