Boeing 737 MAX, US Shutdown and the FAA under Trump

A year later, in an era of unprecedented aviation security, two new Boeing 737 Max planes have crashed in just five months, killing nearly 350 people, and shining a spotlight on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US regulator that sets the standard for airline safety around the world and certifies plane design at Boeing, the world’s largest manufacturer of jet planes.

Like many US federal agencies under Trump, the FAA isn’t operating under optimal conditions to deal with a big issue like the two Boeing crashes. It hasn’t had a permanent top official for 14 months, the White House pushed gutting its employees and trimming budgets for two years in a row, and the recent government shutdown delayed officials’ approval of safety upgrades.

The software fix to solve the unexpected nosedive problem in these planes had been expected in early January but the government shutdown reportedly “halted work on the fix for five weeks.” pic.twitter.com/KDFwnuFIuX

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) March 13, 2019

The Boeing 737 MAX was born out of fierce competition with European Airbus, the aviation market and major airliners due to renew their fleet wanted a more fuel-efficient aircraft at current technology-price.  This Clip from The Air Current explains airplane development at Boeing for the 737 Max:

Read more: https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-safety/the-world-pulls-the-andon-cord-on-the-737-max/

The President puts it this way on Twitter:

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2019

Shortly after this tweet, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg in a phone conversation reassured President Donald Trump that the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is safe, the company confirmed. Muilenburg’s reassurance is something that past presidents might have looked to the FAA to do.

The White House has floated the idea of Trump’s personal pilot since 1989, John Dunkin, to head the $17.5 billion budget, 45,000-person agency; Congress members pushed back, suggesting his lack of appropriate experience meant he’d never be confirmed.

Ethiopia refuses to send black box from crashed Boeing 737 Max 8 to US for analysis, will send it to Europe instead || Via: GlobeAndMail https://t.co/uNOHT00w5A

— SafetyPin-Daily (@SafetyPinDaily) March 14, 2019

Source:  https://theaircurrent.com/