Latest news with #737
The Hill
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Hill
NTSB recommends quick modifications to 737 Max engines
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Wednesday recommended that Boeing modify the engines on 737 Max planes due a safety problem caused by bird strikes. The issue came to light during two 2023 flights in Havana, Cuba and New Orleans when smoke filled the cockpit or cabin after a strike, according to the Associated Press. Both Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned pilots about the issue, which the NTSB said is caused by a safety feature known as a load reduction device. 'This is a case of an unintended consequence of a new and innovative safety idea where if the fan gets unbalanced that this is a way to alleviate the load and thereby doing less damage to the engine, the engine pylon, all of that,' aviation safety expert John Coxtold the AP. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China's C919 planes and Airbus A320neo planes have similar reactions. The engine's manufacturer, CFM International, said the company is working on a software update to mitigate the issue in a joint venture with GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engine. CFM said the current model is 'aligned with the NTSB's recommendations and the work is already underway, in close partnership with our airframers, to enhance the capability of this important system,' per AP. Boeing told The Hill on Friday that they 'support' the NTSB recommendation. The FAA said 'the engine manufacturer develops a permanent mitigation, we will require operators to implement it within an appropriate timeframe,' according to AP. Several 737 pilots told the outlet they were unaware of previous incidents caused by the load reduction device after bird strikes.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Boeing whistleblower reveals theory behind Air India crash
When Air India flight 171 to London crashed and exploded into flames moments after take-off from the West Indian city of Ahmedabad, the world watched in horror. All but one of the 242 passengers on board died when the aircraft plummeted into a residential area Thursday June 12. At least eight people in the area where it came down were also killed. On Sunday, India's Office for Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a written statement, 'The AAIB (Air Accidents Investigation Branch) has launched a detailed investigation, and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting a parallel probe under international protocols since the aircraft is American made.' Both Boeing – which manufactures the 787 Dreamliner airplane which crashed – and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced they had teams standing by to support investigators. Meanwhile, Air India announced Wednesday that it would temporarily cut international flights on widebody aircraft by 15 percent. But while preliminary findings may be made public within the next few months, a full report into the tragedy isn't expected to be published for at least a year. And according to aerospace engineer and Boeing whistleblower, Joe Jacobsen, that delay is not only unnecessary, it could prove fatal. He knows because he's seen it all before. Jacobsen worked at both Boeing and the FAA for decades. He is the man who raised the alarm about issues at the aeronautic giant in the wake of two fatal crashes involving the 737 MAX aircraft and killing a total of 346 people across 2018 and 2019. Last year, he testified at a senate subcommittee hearing on the 737 aircraft and Boeing's safety culture. Now, he has spoken exclusively with the Daily Mail to blow the lid on the finger pointing and blame shifting that, he said, goes on between airlines and aircraft manufacturers and needlessly delays the conclusion of vital reports into what lies behind crashes such as the Air India tragedy. Jacobsen said, 'Investigators would be able to have a pretty good idea of what happened within a week, and I would think they definitely should have 95 percent of the information within a month.' Indeed, both of Flight 171's key information sources – the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder or black box – had been recovered by Sunday. He said, 'It only takes a couple of days to download and have a look at that.' But, Jacobsen said, despite these valuable sources, much of the actionable findings won't be released to the public or acted upon for months. Shockingly, he went onto allege that part of Boeing's motivation in stalling on the release of potentially damaging findings, is financial. He explained, 'A lot of people are invested in Boeing and so they try and delay this stuff so people forget about it, or at least they can make their changes before the bottom falls out.' Indeed, these accidents take a massive toll on company finances. Boeing Co's stock closed at $203.75 on June 12, down 4.8%, after plunging as much as 8% in pre-market trading. One week after the crash it had continued its downward trajectory, hovering around $198.35 on Wednesday. Certainly, analysts and investment firms have been quick to downplay the impact and immediacy of the Air India crash to their investors. RBC Capital Markets, the global investment banking and capital markets arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, issued an investors' note last week in which they cautioned against any rush sell-off on the back of the Air India crash. They stated, 'It can often take months to fully understand the causes of a crash, and the implications for Boeing and its suppliers.' But from his experience, Jacobsen said, 'They know 95 percent of what happened after a week - but then the next 11 months are used up by people trying to control the message, and point fingers at one another, who's responsible, who's not responsible.' Jacobsen's worry is that, if the cause for last week's crash is a systemic issue across the 787 Dreamliner fleet, another crash could happen before it has been publicly identified and addressed. Indeed, with over 1,100 Dreamliners still in operation there has already been another scare. On Monday, another Air India pilot turned his 787 Dreamliner around 30 minutes into the flight, citing a technical issue. The airline told Reuters that the decision to return had been made as a matter of 'abundant precaution' and the flight had landed safely - they did not disclose the nature of the technical issue. US officials have stated there is no immediate evidence to warrant grounding the rest of the aircraft worldwide. But in the absence of any findings, this approach troubles Jacobsen. He said, 'A lot of times when it shows up on one airplane, there's other airplanes that have the same or similar issue. 'We shouldn't be saying we're going to take our time and figure this out. No. We have to have urgency. There's another crash that could happen if we're not working as quickly as we can to get the information out as rapidly as possible.' This is not empty scaremongering. Jacobsen has seen it happen. He was working at the FAA when an Indonesian domestic flight, Lion Air Flight 610, plunged into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off on October 29, 2018. All 189 passengers on board the Boeing 737 MAX perished. Jacobsen recalled, 'I got the flight data recorder data a week after the crash, and it took five minutes to see what the problem was.' But a full report into the disaster wasn't released for a year. In the meantime, there was another fatal crash when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes after take-off in March 2019. In that instance all 149 passengers and 8 crew members were killed. Both incidents involved the Boeing 737 MAX and both were found to be caused by the same flawed flight control system. Boeing recently reached a $1.1 billion deal with the US Justice Department over the two crashes. Jacobsen isn't the only one frustrated by the slow drip feeding of information. Lawyers for another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, put out a statement on Friday, criticizing the FAA for sitting on a report about safety issues with the Boeing 787 - the same model as the Air India crash - and 878 for months. Salehpour went public with his concerns last year, stating that Boeing was using 'shortcuts' in the making of the 787 Dreamliner fuselage and sparking a federal investigation into the company. But on Friday his lawyer Debra Katz expressed frustration at its slow progress. She said, 'The FAA previously represented to us that they had completed an investigation, suggested that it had meaningful and significant findings that supported Mr Salehpour's allegations, and it was going to release them imminently. 'That was months ago. We urge the agency to disclose the results of its investigation.' For Jacobsen the solution is clear. Issue findings promptly, allowing problems to be addressed and giving families the answers they need, or ground affected aircraft until the cause of these devastating crashes has been made public. Because as things stand, he fears, more people could die while investigators and Boeing drag their feet and families wait. Boeing did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment. Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg issued a statement following the crash which included the assurance, 'I have spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.'
Business Journals
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
Hawaiian Airlines receives last Amazon-supplied cargo aircraft
An Amazon Prime Air 737 cargo jet is seen at Sea-Tac Airport in this 2019 file photo. The 10 Airbus A330-300 cargo aircraft are owned by Seatle-based Amazon and operated by Hawaiian under a contract flying agreement.
India Gazette
5 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
Air India crash tests Boeing's new leadership before Paris show
SEATTLE/BENGALURU: Boeing is once again under scrutiny following the crash of an Air India 787-8 Dreamliner that killed nearly all 242 people on board — the deadliest aviation disaster in a decade. The timing couldn't be worse: the company's top executives are preparing for the Paris Air Show this week, traditionally a high point for announcing deals and showcasing progress. Though air safety experts emphasize there is no indication yet of a design or manufacturing fault, the incident is expected to dominate conversations at the event, further testing the credibility of Boeing's new leadership team. CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took the helm amid a wave of crises, entered June with momentum. Boeing had notched more than 300 new orders and was ramping up production of its 737 jets. The Air India tragedy, however, has reignited concerns about the company's long-troubled safety record. "The ramp-up in orders and production was helping rebuild confidence," said Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, a luxury travel consultancy. "But previous production issues will be very much on people's minds now, and Boeing's leadership needs to be visible in the days to come." Boeing's stock fell 4.2 percent on June 12. Shares of suppliers Spirit AeroSystems and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the 787, also declined by about two percent. Boeing's debt saw a modest sell-off. The Dreamliner that crashed was over 10 years old and delivered to Air India in 2014. It had logged more than 41,000 flight hours, including 420 hours in May and 165 hours during June, according to Cirium and FlightRadar24. Ortberg said in a statement that Boeing would assist with the investigation. Accident probes typically take months to examine all possibilities. The 787 line, one of Boeing's most modern, had never suffered a fatal crash until now. The aircraft was temporarily grounded in 2013 for battery issues, though no injuries occurred at the time. By contrast, Boeing's 737 MAX has been at the center of two fatal crashes and multiple production lapses, culminating in the January 2024 mid-air blowout of a door plug that forced out former CEO Dave Calhoun. Aviation expert John Nance said it may be difficult to separate public emotion from facts: "The biggest challenge for Boeing could be getting lay people to understand that while a jet it made crashed, it is unlikely that Boeing is at fault." Still, the crash could renew scrutiny of Boeing's safety and manufacturing standards, even if analysts like Jeff Windau of Edward Jones don't expect a lasting production impact. Before the accident, airline executives had been warming up to Boeing's recovery story — though public trust hadn't kept pace. A May survey by Axios Harris ranked Boeing 88th out of 100 top U.S. companies by reputation, unchanged from 2024.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
A look at Boeing's recent troubles after Air India crash
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The crash of a Boeing 787 passenger jet in India minutes after takeoff on Thursday is putting the spotlight back on a beleaguered manufacturer though it was not immediately clear why the plane Air India 787 went down in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad with more than 240 people aboard shortly after takeoff, authorities said. It was the first fatal crash since the plane, also known as the Dreamliner, went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Boeing shares fell more than 4% in afternoon 787 was the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries , which are lighter, recharge faster and can hold more energy than other types of batteries. In 2013 the 787 fleet was temporarily grounded because of overheating of its lithium-ion batteries, which in some cases sparked fires.737 Max The Max version of Boeing's best-selling 737 airplane has been the source of persistent troubles for Boeing after two of the jets crashed. The crashes, one in Indonesia in 2018 and another in Ethiopia in 2019, killed problem stemmed from a sensor providing faulty readings that pushed the nose down, leaving pilots unable to regain control. After the second crash, Max jets were grounded worldwide until the company redesigned the month, the Justice Department reached a deal to allow Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the Max before the two about the plane flared up again after a door plug blew off a Max operated by Alaska Airlines, leading regulators to cBoeing's production at 38 jets per woes Boeing posted a loss of $11.8 billion in 2024, bringing its total losses since 2019 to more than $35 company's financial problems were compounded by a strike by machinists who assemble the airplanes plane at its factories in Renton and Everett, Washington, which halted production at those facilities and hampered Boeing's delivery the first three months of 2025, Boeing reported a narrower loss of $31 million compared with the previous year. CEO Kelly Ortberg said Boeing made progress on stabilizing operations during the and deliveries The stepped-up government scrutiny and the workers' strike resulted in Boeing's aircraft deliveries sliding last said it supplied 348 jetliners in 2024, which was a third fewer than the 528 that it reported for the previous company delivered less than half the number of commercial aircraft to customers than its main rival Airbus , which reported delivering 766 commercial jets in Boeing's troubles haven't turned off airline customers from buying its jets. Last month the company secured big orders from two Middle Eastern customers. The deals included a $96 billion order for 787 and 777X jets from Qatar, which it said was the biggest order for 787s and wide body jets in the company's.
