The practices to fly the Boeing 737 MAX were made with an iPad

The Ethiopian authorities have announced that the damaged Boeing 737 MAX 8 black box data on March 10 in the African country show "obvious similarities" with the accident that an aircraft of the same model of the company Lion Air suffered in October. Last year in Indonesia.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced the publication of an "emergency order" to suspend the flights of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9. Some experts badume that the losses would have could have been caused by the disaster. the Boeing 737 MAX 8 computer system, called "MCAS", while the manufacturer itself insists that their aircraft are safe.

The New York Times newspaper investigated whether the pilots who had to support these models were actually trained to work with the new aircraft software. When, in 2010, Boeing's main competitor in the global aviation market, the European Airbus, announced that it would introduce a new profitable and profitable aircraft, the US company quickly launched its own model.

The idea was to build an airplane that would work the same way as the previous generation. The regulators agreed that, as a derivative model, which did not require additional training with the simulator, the newspaper is resuming operations, resulting in significant savings for airlines.

"A two-hour training course with an iPad"

Normally, pilots train in giant machines costing millions of dollars, versions of cabs mimicking the flight experience and teaching them the new features of the new aircraft models. However, in the case of the MAX, many pilots experienced in flight with the Boeing 737 have learned to fly the new version of the aircraft with an iPad.

Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told the New York Rimes that they "would have liked to have a simulator" from the start, "but that was not practical, because it was not yet built. "

For his part, Greg Bowen, president of the training and standards of the Southwest Pilots Association, said that senior airline officials had told him that the technical data needed to design the "software" simulator "were not available until the plane was almost ready to fly." "They were building the plane and still designing it," Bowen said.

The newspaper adds that, in addition to a two-hour iPad training, the specialists used their flight experience to develop a 13-page manual on the differences between the Max models and their predecessor, particularly the changes to the displays and the engines. . However, the training material did not mention the new "software" which, after the Indonesian tragedy, became the main topic of research.

However, after the incident occurred in Indonesia in October 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States. this has not changed the rules of pilot training in "software" and, apparently, it is not planned to do so now, after the fall of the second Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Ethiopia. Boeing ensures that this type of aircraft has been certified to meet all required requirements.

MCAS software

The engines of the Boeing 737 MAX are larger than those of the previous model and, to compensate for the aerodynamic differences caused by this change, the construction company has installed the MCAS system, which automatically lowers the nose of the aircraft under certain circumstances . It is estimated that in the Indonesian tragedy, the system may have malfunctioned due to a misinterpretation of sensor data.

After the accident in Indonesia, the Southwest Airlines and American Airlines pilots unions wanted Boeing's answers and asked for real simulators for the new model. The company replied that it did not mention the new software because it did not want to "flood" them with information and no additional training was needed. A consensus emerged after the company had promised to warn the drivers of the software's nature.

It is not yet known when the flight ban will be lifted for the 737 MAX, even though US lawmakers will not be allowed to do so. After an information meeting with officials of the Federal Aviation Administration, they said this week that the Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 9s would remain on the ground for at least "weeks" until it was over. a "software" update can be tested and installed. all devices.

Boeing announced that it was going to update the flight control software of its Model 737 MAX aircraft by April to "make it even safer." But the truth is that the company does not intend to review its pilot training procedures.

RT.