33 out of 89 tests failed!: How safe is the Boeing 737 Max?

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What’s going on at Boeing? After the two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, things had calmed down for a while. However, the malfunction of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max and the removal of the fuselage door in January deepened the concerns again.

Following this incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted an audit of Boeing’s quality control processes. Devastating result: Boeing failed 33 of 89 inspections, the New York Times reported.

That’s why a third of the tests failed. The FAA discovered “dozens of problems,” some of which included “failure to comply with approved manufacturing processes.” And this is in aviation, where safety is a top priority!

“If it’s Boeing, I won’t go”

Stefan Eiselin (56), founder of the Zurich aviation portal “Aerotelegraph”, has already heard that there are some among his readers who no longer want to ride the Boeing 737Max, or at least are “uneasy” about it. The joke “I won’t go if it’s Boeing”, whose origins are unclear, suddenly gains momentum.

After all, no Boeing 737 Max flies to or from Switzerland. However, airline companies operating in Switzerland such as Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines or Air Canada have these vehicles in their fleets. In other words: it’s quite possible that you’ll be sitting on a Boeing 737 Max on a connecting flight.

Eiselin says everyone should decide for themselves whether they want to fly the Boeing 737 Max. But he adds: “The incident with Alaska Airlines was too much.” Boeing suffered a huge loss of confidence. The promise of recovery has evaporated following the deadly events of 2018/2019. Since then, the stock market price has fallen accordingly.

“Boeing will now have to invest a lot of money to regain credibility with the public and investors,” says Eiselin. This money may be lacking in development and innovation.

Almost no beneficiaries in sight

Which competitor has the advantage because of Boeing’s misery? Almost no one. Rival Airbus has benefited from this before, and its order books will be full for years to come. Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is too small, Russian aircraft manufacturers no longer play a role, and Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac remains irrelevant outside China’s sphere of influence.

In the long run, airlines may not be able to avoid Boeing. “Boeing’s planes are not bad, but given their high prices, such quality defects should not occur so frequently,” Eiselin concludes.

Statistically speaking, the number of fatal crashes involving Boeing aircraft of all types is actually minimal compared to the number of Boeing aircraft flying. But errors in aviation construction and quality control are not trivial.

Source :Blick