Boeing has been here before. What four fatal accidents in the 1960s say about the 737 Max crisis



[ad_1]

The press blamed the planes and many pbadengers were afraid to fly with them. The jet was supposed to put the company on the road to success because it was the type of transportation that the airlines had been demanding. But if panic persisted and the airlines refused to buy it, Boeing's future would be jeopardized.

During a four-month period in late 1965 and early 1966, four new Boeing 727s crashed. Three of the accidents occurred while aircraft were attempting to land at US airports, and two others were less than three days apart, in November 1965.

Lessons from the previous crisis

Boeing obviously survived the crisis from the mid-sixties. So what lessons can he apply to his current situation?

First, appropriate training for pilots flying a new aircraft is of crucial importance.

The pilots were not ready to fly the 727, which caused collisions.

Rear part of the All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet, which crashed into Tokyo Bay with 133 people on board in 1966.
Although the exact cause of the 737 Max accidents has not yet been determined, it has been proven that pilots are not ready to use an automatic safety system designed to prevent stalls. Investigators suspect the airplanes Forced safety system the nose of the 737 Max jets lower before accidents in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

But the accidents that occurred in 1965 and in '66 proved that the pbadengers were quickly overcoming their fear of some jets if Boeing proved that they were safe.

The anxiety of flying aboard the Boeing 737 Max aircraft reached a fever level after the crash in Ethiopia. The Kayak travel site has added an option to filter flights using 737 Max. Boeing's decision to request the grounding of the jets was in part "intended to rebadure the public in flight about the safety of the aircraft".

If history is a guide, the nervousness with regard to the 737 Max should back down.

These four accidents of 727 have caused even more concern among the traveling public. Air accidents were much more common at the time and many more people had little experience of air transport.

But worries about the 727 disappeared quickly and the plane became a major success for Boeing (BA).

The history of 727 accidents

The 727 had three jet engines on its tail, the first commercial aircraft with fewer than four engines. That made it more fuel-efficient than the four-engine engine Boeing 707, the industry's first commercial jet aircraft. The 727 also had innovative wings that could slow the plane faster, allowing it to land on shorter runways. This allowed the aircraft to land in airports previously served only by propeller aircraft, an essential selling point.

But the pilots flying the four convicted jet planes were apparently unprepared for the speed with which the planes would descend with the new wings.

One of the planes bound for the Chicago O 'Hare airport crashed into miles of Lake Michigan.

"Newspaper headlines called it" The Deadly 727. "There were many calls to the earth," said Bill Waldock, professor at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and head of the lab. school accidents. "Travel agents had booked pbadengers away from the plane, it could have killed the plane."

FAA sticks to Boeing

As was the case last week, when the world's aviation authorities put the 737 Max on the ground, the FAA was stuck by Boeing in 1965. It issued a statement the day after the third fatal crash of the 727, stating that she could find no tendency in accidents. He refused to throw the jet on the ground.

Finally, the Civil Aeronautics Board and the National Transportation Safety Board, the successor agency to the CAB, was created as a result of the traffic accidents and allowed the 727 to clear the theft and badign the driver error.

"The jury determined that the probable cause of this accident was the inability of the captain to take quick action to stop an excessive rate of descent during the approaching landing," said investigators investigating an accident in Salt Lake City.

The need for more training

The pilots were not properly prepared to cope with the changes in aircraft maneuverability compared to the commercial jet planes that preceded it.

Boeing has touted the simplified approval of the 737 Max. Now he's cleaning up the mess

"The rates of descent that can develop were much higher than they were used to," said Shem Malmquist, an accident investigator and visiting professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. The investigators were right in saying that the plane itself was safe. They left out the fact that the pilots were not trained to handle it. "

But Boeing overcame the crisis of 727. Increased training has led to safer use of the aircraft, and this type of accident has come to an end.

"The problem was with the training and the experience of the pilots," said Waldock, who spoke of the 727 collisions as part of his crash investigation courses. "The training was extended following the accidents."

Public acceptance of previously troubled planes

The 727 became the best-selling jet of its era for Boeing. He eventually sold 1,831 jet planes, nearly double the size of competitor DC-9.

DC-9 builder Douglas Aircraft eventually merged with McDonnell Aircraft a few years later. Boeing eventually bought the merged company, McDonnell Douglas, in 1997.

According to Brian Baum, author and aviation historian, public concerns about aircraft that crashed are usually short-lived.

Baum reports that the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, has recently been immobilized for three months due to battery fire problems.

"People were very worried about 787 battery problems," said Baum. "But I do not know anyone who would have a problem with a 787 today."

In the end, consumers make their decision based on costs.

"I do not know if people will worry about it for a very long time," Malmquist said. "They only worry about the price of the ticket."

Update: This article was published on March 20th.

[ad_2]
Source link