In the news

Not really chilling, there are a few aircraft designed to be unstable for the increase in manoeuvrability.

It's how the manufacturer deals with the software required to fly it that could make it an issue.

Wasn't this 10 years ago?

https://www.satcom.guru/2018/11/737-fcc-pitch-axis-augmentation-command.html?m=1

The latter is definitely true, but the 737 Max is designed unstable not for an increase in manoeuvrability but because Boeing are pushing the envelope of a jet with a basic design which is well over 50 years old.

The engines on a 737 are close to the ground as it has short landing gear, which is why Boeing had to move them up and forward to provide enough thrust for the 737 Max. If you compare a 737 with an A320 the (much more modern) Airbus has longer landing gear, so Airbus haven't needed to take similar steps for stretched versions of the A320.

In the past you could put an African airliner crashing down to old planes and poor maintainence, but not sure that's going to be the case here.

Yeah, the planes I was on were all pretty new, seemingly well-maintained and the staff were great. That includes the smaller planes for internal flights, and none of the other planes I saw in the airports looked remotely ropey. I'm sure a lot of people will have seen this and thought, 'Well, it's Africa...', but this was a new plane and a good airline.

Ethiopian definitely have a good reputation.

And it's Ethiopian, China and Cayman Airways who have grounded their MAX aircraft as a safety measure. Not the North American/European operators.

the aircraft is aerodynamically unbalanced, so Boeing created a software fix to deal with it.

Epic wtf! (Appreciate discussed in following posts.)

there are a few aircraft designed to be unstable for the increase in manoeuvrability.

Fighter jets? For passenger aircraft this should be low on list no?

I vaguely recall reading favourable things about Ethiopian Air. Can't remember exactly what they were good at, but I got the impression it is one of the companies you refer to if you want to write about African success stories.

Ethiopia itself has had a huge amount of investment from China and I seem to remember hearing it has the fastest growing economy in Africa.

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/addis-ababa-china-construction-style/index.html

the aircraft is aerodynamically unbalanced, so Boeing created a software fix to deal with it.

Epic wtf! (Appreciate discussed in following posts.)

I think aerodynamically unbalanced is on a scale, and this airframe happens to be a different place on the scale compared to others at certain angles of attack, hence the software fix. It's not dangerous, it's just different.

It appears it might be the software fix combined with human factors and or faulty external sensors that is dangerous.

Very different to say the Eurofighter which cannot be flown, period, without software automation.

The problem was, Boeing hadn't told Lion Air about it, so Lion Air couldn't have told the pilots.

Don't pilots have to retrain to fly a new plane, surely they should have been aware that this is how it works?

but because Boeing are pushing the envelope of a jet with a basic design which is well over 50 years old.

In short, it is much cheaper to improve/modify an existing plane design than to spend billions on designing a brand new aircraft from scratch.

the plane’s MCAS anti-stall system weren’t in the Boeing manual

It's not dangerous, it's just different.

All sounds a bit https://youtu.be/3m5qxZm_JqM

Pilots do have to get a new type rating to fly a new plane, but the MAX is considered similar enough to previous 737s to not require a new type rating. Not having to train your pilots for a new type approval saves airlines a lot of money, so only one is required for the 737 family and I think it's the same for the Airbus A318/9/20/21.

Pilots do need to do a 'differences course' which is normally delivered online. Ryanair are taking delivery of their first MAX 737s next month (or were meant to be) at Stansted and are/were planning to do the same thing.

The problem here though is that as @fussballclub said the MCAS system wasn't covered in the differences course that the Lion Air pilots would have done. So they didn't even know the system was present, never mind how to disable it.

After the Lion Air crash the Ethiopian pilots would almost certainly have been aware of the MCAS feature and should have been aware of how to disable the system.

After the Lion Air crash the Ethiopian pilots would almost certainly have been aware of the MCAS feature and should have been aware of how to disable the system.

Then you get in to the Air France problem in that there's a chance that the pilots will not diagnose correctly in the limited time they have.

Also, "should".

Yep. Same with the type approval, it's all about money. And stretching aircraft = more passengers = more fatalities when it does go wrong. Lion Air was the deadliest 737 crash ever.

Good NYT article on what the Lion Air pilots could possibly have done to avoid that crash here:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/16/world/asia/lion-air-crash-cockpit.html

If you look at the altitude graph I don't think I'd fancy my chances of correctly diagnosing the problem and dealing with it as the aircraft plunged rapidly towards the sea...

I read that eyewitnesses of the crash are saying that they could see flames coming from the rear of the plane before impact.

Isn't there just something really curious about the Stabalizer trim being manually controlled by a pair of cables running the length of the plane and in to the cockpit?

Why curious? That (or an equivalent hydro-mechanical link) is how it would have worked before fly-by-wire, now retained as a legacy back-up system.

I was under the impression that the physical connection between pilot and plane had mostly been eliminated, redundancy now provided through back up electronic systems.

Presumably the crank is that size so the pilots get enough leverage to be able to turn it.

UK HO: No we don't want anybody linked to ISIS back at all

Republic of Ireland: We think this women that was born in Ireland and joined IS was radicalized and has a right to return. Compare and contrast...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47526563