More Boeing Bad News

[OFSO]

With superb timing Boeing announce they will have the Max certified (or something like that) by the end of June....

[PHXPhlyer]

Not holding my breath.

PP

[llondel]

With superb timing Boeing announce they will have the Max certified (or something like that) by the end of June....

...of which year?

[Rwy in Sight]

They had a deadline for the 787 to have its first flight by the end of June 08. They didn't make it.

[barkingmad]

They had a deadline for the 787 to have its first flight by the end of June 08. They didn't make it.

Is “deadline” an appropriate word to use in the context of the ‘Max’ fiasco?

[Rwy in Sight]

They had a deadline for the 787 to have its first flight by the end of June 08. They didn't make it.

Is “deadline” an appropriate word to use in the context of the ‘Max’ fiasco?

Nicely thought but in the 787 case it seemed okish

[Undried Plum]

With superb timing Boeing announce they will have the Max certified (or something like that) by the end of June....

Certified in which of the world's 198 countries?

[AtomKraft]

I'm current and have 14,000 hours.

Can someone buy me a cup of soup?

[admin]

Sorry love, but the whole industry went down hill since I retired.

[PHXPhlyer]

Boeing 737 Max Hearing: FAA Accused Of Keeping Lawmakers 'In The Dark'

https://www.investors.com/news/boeing-7 ... e-hearing/
Boeing 737 Max Hearing: FAA Accused Of Keeping Lawmakers 'In The Dark'
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GILLIAN RICH10:33 AM ET 06/17/2020
The Federal Aviation Administration faced accusations of being Congress "in the dark" as FAA chief Steve Dickson began testifying before a Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday on the Boeing (BA) 737 Max. Boeing stock fell in morning trade.

Wednesday's hearing is focusing on "issues associated with the design, development, certification, and operation" of the Boeing 737 Max. But the FAA apparently has not given the Senate Commerce Committee most of the documents it had requested.

This record of delay and non responsiveness, clearly shows... unwillingness to cooperate with congressional oversight. It is hard not to conclude your team at the FAA has deliberately attempted to keep us in the dark," Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss, said in opening remarks.

Sen. Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have reportedly authored a draft bill to reform the way the FAA certifies new aircraft, according to Reuters. The bill would give the FAA power to hire or let go of employees at aircraft manufacturers performing FAA certification tasks. The FAA would also have the authority to appoint safety advisors.

The hearing may also provide investors with more clues as to when the Boeing 737 Max will return to service. The company reportedly plans to run an FAA recertification flight later this month. In late May, Boeing restarted production but then told a key supplier a week later to hold off on some work, suggesting more delays or a slower ramp-up.

The timeline for recertification flights has dragged on. Regulators had to agree on the final fixes and Boeing uncovered new software issues that needed correcting. In February, Dickson said that certification flights would start in a few weeks.

Jet Demand Weak
The 737 Max hearing comes as Boeing and Airbus (EADSY) face falling demand for aircraft amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, Qatar Airways said it will not take delivery of planes ordered from either aircraft manufacturer this year or next.

"All the other aircraft that we have on order that were supposed to be delivered to us within the next two or three years, will now be pushed back to as long as nearly eight to 10 years," CEO Akbar al-Baker told the U.K.'s Sky News.

Join IBD experts as they analyze actionable stocks in the coronavirus stock market rally on IBD Live.

Boeing 737 Max Culture
Shares fell 2.8% to 192.22 on the stock market today following the Qatar Airways announcement and Sen. Wicker's comments. On Tuesday, Boeing stock closed up 3.6% at 197.77 amid optimism about an economic rebound.

Top Boeing 737 Max supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) and engine supplier General Electric (GE) sank more than 2% after both rose on Tuesday.

The Boeing 737 Max was involved in two deadly crashes that killed a total 346 people and has been grounded since March 2019. Problems with the complex Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) were blamed for the two crashes. Investigations into Boeing's certification process further exposed a toxic work culture. Reports said management ignored warnings from some employees that overworked employees were making mistakes amid quality control issues at Boeing's factories.

Text messages between employees from 2016 suggested that the Dow Jones aerospace giant misled the FAA about the 737 Max's MCAS system. A test pilot also reportedly complained that he felt pressure from management to ensure the Boeing 737 Max jets wouldn't require expensive pilot training.

At hearings last year, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle blasted the company's close relationship with the FAA. A House investigation that began a year ago was released in early March. That report said the FAA "failed in its duty" and that its review of the troubled plane was "grossly insufficient." The report also called out Boeing for having a "culture of concealment."

In December, Boeing's board ousted Dennis Muilenburg as CEO amid criticism of his handling of the crisis and scoldings by regulators for pushing for a quicker return to service for the 737 Max.

Boeing is facing scrutiny from other federal agencies as well. The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating the aerospace giant's financial disclosures related to the jet's grounding. The Justice Department, FBI and the Transportation Department are probing whether the aerospace giant misled regulators and customers about the jet.

Boeing 737 Max Return Delayed
Last year, the Boeing 737 Max was expected to return to service by January. Then that was pushed back to mid-2020. But now the jet looks to miss the entire summer travel season.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) removed the troubled plane from its schedule through October and American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) are expected to follow suit.

The Dow giant halted production of the Boeing 737 Max in January amid the prolonged grounding as finished jets spilled out into employee parking lots. On May 28, Boeing resumed production at a "low rate" with plans to increase to 31 737 Max jets per month in 2021. That's down from the 57 jets per month it had earlier expected to build this month.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

Foreign regulators demand substantial new changes to Boeing 737 MAX flight controls

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/b ... -controls/

Foreign regulators demand substantial new changes to Boeing 737 MAX flight controls
June 24, 2020 at 6:43 pm Updated June 24, 2020 at 7:14 pm
A Boeing 737 MAX under assembly inside the Renton factory on July 24, 2019. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)
A Boeing 737 MAX under assembly inside the Renton factory on July 24, 2019. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)
Dominic Gates By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
Aviation safety regulators in Europe and Canada have demanded design changes to the flight control systems on Boeing’s 737 MAX that go beyond fixing the flawed system that ultimately brought down the aircraft in two fatal crashes.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has told Boeing it must come up with design upgrades to satisfy these concerns.

Yet all three regulators have agreed Boeing will be required to make these additional design changes and retrofit the worldwide fleet only after the MAX returns to service.

The required changes to the flight control systems highlight weaknesses in the 737’s inherited avionics systems. The fixes could add substantial cost to the MAX program and might slow the ramp-up of deliveries Boeing needs to recover its cash flow.

Boeing has already developed a fix for the new MAX flight control system that was the main cause of the two crashes: the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).

Janet Northcote, head of communications at the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said while MCAS “absolutely needs to be fixed for the plane to be recertified as airworthy … there are other issues in some way related to the sensor problem” that triggered MCAS and these also require correction.

“By themselves, these would not create a safety critical issue,” Northcote said. “It’s when they come together with something critical at the same time that it’s a major issue.”

All three regulators will allow the MAX back into service without the additional fixes in place, officials said in interviews this week.

Boeing has proposed that when the MAX initially starts flying again, it will be enough to make changes to the flight manual and pilot training, so crews are aware of the potential problems and know how to respond. EASA believes this “provides adequate mitigation in the short term.”

“However, further down the road, we think design enhancements are needed,” said Northcote.

Boeing has made some proposals for permanent fixes that the regulators are currently reviewing.

Tight schedule for MAX retrofits
The push by the Europeans marks a new assertiveness by foreign regulators. After two crashes that killed 346 people and the consequent close scrutiny that uncovered new problems with the MAX one after another, they aren’t prepared to just follow the FAA.

EASA has identified three issues that will require substantial redesign. Transport Canada has focused on one.

The FAA declined to comment on its ongoing review of the proposed design changes. However, a person familiar with the FAA’s deliberations said the U.S. agency will require Boeing to come up with a fix for all three of the issues raised.

Two sources familiar with the discussions said regulators want the permanent design changes done on a relatively tight timetable. “We are looking for this to be implemented at the latest by the time of the certification of the 737 MAX 10,” said one. The second source verified this as the target.

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The first MAX 10, the final and largest model in the MAX jet family, rolled out last November and its delayed first flight is expected later this year, which would typically imply certification late in 2021.

If the system design changes are required to be on the MAX 10 from the moment it enters service, that might further delay the schedule for the MAX 10.

Once the changes are finalized and approved, they “would then be retrofitted to the MAX in-service fleet as soon as practicable,” Northcote said.

She added that EASA, the FAA and Boeing haven’t made a final determination on a schedule for implementing the design changes and that it’s possible the logistical problems posed by COVID-19 could extend it.

Boeing declined to address details of its proposed design changes, but in a statement said the company is “committed to addressing all of the regulators’ questions and meeting all certification and regulatory requirements. “

Angle of Attack sensor problems
EASA’s biggest concern is with Boeing’s proposed solution to the Angle of Attack problem that initiated the two 737 MAX crashes.

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In both crashes, MCAS was triggered by a single faulty Angle of Attack signal. Boeing’s redesign of MCAS uses both Angle of Attack sensors on the MAX during any given flight instead of only one. MCAS won’t operate unless both sensors agree.

However, while this fixes MCAS, the Angle of Attack sensors feed into multiple other systems. EASA’s concern is that if the two sensors disagree, the flight control computers have no way of telling which is the correct reading.

The Europeans doubt having two sensors is good enough to make the system sufficiently robust.

Northcote said EASA considers the system used by Airbus, which has three Angle of Attack sensors on the rival A320 jet, a good design. The agency wants Boeing to develop a new system “that in some way matches that, but doesn’t necessarily have to be a third sensor.”

The alternative to a third physical sensor is what’s called a “synthetic” sensor, a system that provides an additional, indirect AOA calculation using a variety of different sensors and inputs.

Boeing’s latest all-new jet, the 787 Dreamliner, for example, has a system called Synthetic Airspeed that takes input from the Angle of Attack sensors and various data points that indicate the plane’s attitude in the air. This system serves to cross-check the signals from the other sensors and enables the flight control computer to identify a false data signal.

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In the original development of the MAX — as documented in an ethics complaint by Boeing engineer Curtis Ewbank and in controversial emails by Chief Technical Pilot on the MAX, Mark Forkner — Boeing rejected the addition of Synthetic Airspeed to avoid the need for simulator training for MAX pilots.

To add a synthetic system to the MAX now would be costly. All its interactions with existing systems would have to be tested and certified, and Boeing will have to convince regulators the information it produces is as reliable or better than a physical sensor.

According to the person familiar with the FAA’s deliberations — who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing discussions between the regulators — EASA’s demand for the equivalent of a three-sensor system arises from a fundamentally different design philosophy between Airbus and Boeing.

Airbus jets are all designed so that when a pilot adjusts the controls, that action is sent via the computer to move the airplane’s control surfaces on the wings and tail. This requires multiple layers of redundancy to make sure no glitch in the software produces a faulty signal.

In contrast, on Boeing jets the main control surfaces are directly connected to the pilot controls by cables, giving the pilot a physical tactile connection that offers a sense of what the plane is doing that’s absent on an Airbus jet.

“For Airbus and EASA, three Angle of Attack sensors is just what you do,” said the person. “For Boeing and the FAA, it’s not necessary, because in addition to the two Angle of Attack sensors, you have that physical connection with the aircraft.”

Still, the FAA has told Boeing it must address EASA’s concern.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

Foreign regulators demand substantial new changes to Boeing 737 MAX flight controls (Part2)

After the two MAX crashes, Boeing’s longstanding reliance on pilot capabilities as the ultimate assurance of safety has been brought into question, especially in modern cockpits that are largely automated and computer-controlled.

Confusing cockpit warnings
The second issue for which EASA is demanding a design change stems from investigations that have established the pilots on both crash flights were confused by a cacophony of warning alerts going off simultaneously.

On the MAX, multiple warning lights on the instrument panel and computer-generated aural alerts can be triggered by a single bad sensor.

It’s unclear what Boeing will propose to address that, but it has to come up with something to satisfy EASA.

The third issue that needs a design fix is one that has particularly bothered Transport Canada: a “stick shaker” stall warning that cannot be turned off even when clearly erroneous.

This is the alert system on the MAX that makes the control column vibrate forcefully in the hands of the pilot if the plane is pitched too high and is slowing toward a stall — meaning the plane is about to lose lift under the wings and will begin to drop.

In both MAX crash flights, the stick shaker was triggered erroneously by a faulty Angle of Attack signal.

On Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that crashed in March 2019, killing 157 people, the stick shaker vibrated throughout the six-minute flight, indicating the plane was going too slow and close to a stall, while simultaneously a loud clacker was sounding in the cockpit — warning the pilots they were going too fast.

To avoid such severe distraction and confusion, Transport Canada wants Boeing — before the MAX’s return to service — to include in the flight manual instructions for how to pull circuit breakers to stop the stick shaker.

The circuit breakers are in an overhead panel in the 737 cockpit. Transport Canada said it will require Boeing to add “collars” to the stick shaker circuit breakers to distinguish them from others in the vicinity so they can be quickly identified in an emergency.

According to two people with knowledge of the FAA’s view of this, the U.S. agency doesn’t favor pilots having to reach up to pull circuit breakers in an emergency.

“Typically, pulling circuit breakers is not something we’d encourage. Those are supposed to be for maintenance, not for operating the airplane,” said an FAA safety engineer, who spoke without authorization and cannot be identified. “It’s a short-term solution,” he added.

Annie Joannette, a spokesperson for Transport Canada said Boeing is working on an alternative fix.

“Boeing has been discussing the possibility of a post-return-to-service modification that would allow the stick shaker to be deactivated by means other than pulling the circuit breaker,” she said. “If this modification was made available, then the circuit breaker pull procedure in the approved Aircraft Flight Manual would be an interim measure.”

It’s unclear if that interim option for pulling the circuit breakers will be included in all MAX flight manuals or only in those for Canadian pilots.

Seeking regulator harmony
Existing U.S. certification requirements don’t mandate the enhancements EASA and Transport Canada are requiring.

The FAA’s stance in agreeing that Boeing must nevertheless address the three specific issues raised is aimed at achieving harmony among the main aviation regulators, which at earlier points in the discussions over the MAX crashes have been unusually at odds.

Concerned at how the glaring flaws in the original MCAS design slipped through the MAX’s initial certification, the Europeans and Canadians have insisted on conducting their own independent safety assessments of the MAX recertification rather than automatically following the FAA lead.

Yet addressing the issues raised by EASA is not a point of contention.

“There’s no dispute. EASA and the FAA will each require it,” said the person familiar with the FAA’s deliberations. “Boeing has to come up with a path to address the concerns.”

As a result, U.S. sources now expect the Europeans will clear the MAX to fly passengers again within a week or so of the FAA doing so.

The next important milestone on the way to the MAX’s return to service is required certification flights, when pilots for the FAA and other regulators conduct flights to thoroughly test the new upgraded software that fixes MCAS.

Because of travel restrictions due to COVID-19, travelers from European Union countries cannot currently enter the United States, and Northcote said this has so far prevented EASA from scheduling its MAX recertification flights.

However, sources within Boeing and the FAA say the FAA’s recertification test flights, which will take about three days of flying, could begin as early as next Monday.

If that happens, the MAX will be on track to win FAA clearance around mid-September. That would be the signal for pilot training to begin, so U.S. airlines could be flying the MAX again before year end.

The design changes demanded by the foreign regulators will then be Boeing’s next challenge.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @dominicgates.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

Boeing reacts to racist incident at Everett plant

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/b ... ett-plant/

Boeing reacts to racist incident at Everett plant
June 24, 2020 at 2:55 pm Updated June 24, 2020 at 6:26 pm
The tail sections of two Boeing KC-46 tankers at the assembly factory in Everett. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)
The tail sections of two Boeing KC-46 tankers at the assembly factory in Everett. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)
Dominic Gates By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
A Black manager at Boeing’s Everett jet assembly plant found racist symbols on his desk when he arrived for work Tuesday, prompting Boeing to launch an internal investigation and refer the incident to law enforcement.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal reacted with a strongly worded message to all 65,000 employees in his division Wednesday afternoon, expressing “my sadness, disappointment and disgust that anyone at Boeing would do this.”

“Racial discrimination, harassment and acts of intimidation will never be tolerated anywhere within Boeing,” Deal wrote. “I am committed to taking every action possible, including termination, for anyone involved in this incident.”

It’s not the first such recent incident, Deal’s message indicated. He wrote that “in the past few days we dismissed several employees after a thorough investigation found they engaged in behavior that is not consistent with our values.”

His message added, without giving details, that Boeing has taken similar action for other cases in different parts of the company.

A company spokesman said Boeing is withholding details of the symbols left for the manager for purposes of the investigation and to avoid giving whoever did it a platform. Boeing also didn’t disclose the name of the manager or the location of the desk within its massive Everett factory complex.

The incidents at Boeing coincide with the massive protests against systemic racism in American society triggered by repeated instances of police killings of Black people across the country.

In this emotional cauldron, many companies have issued antiracist messages, including Boeing. Four days after George Floyd died under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis, CEO Dave Calhoun sent a message to all company employees condemning racism.

“You can be certain that when unacceptable acts of discrimination happen inside Boeing, the tolerance of this company for the people who engage in them will be precisely zero,” Calhoun wrote. “There is no room in our company for them, and in fact in my short time as your CEO we have already terminated individuals for engaging in that behavior.”

Less than two weeks later, on June 10, Calhoun sent out another all-employee message promising to “redouble our determination to drive out behaviors that violate our values” and citing a number of steps the company would take.

He promised to raise the bar on measures of equity within the company and to be “accountable for clearing that bar.” And he said Boeing would “double the $25 million we have already invested in partnerships that create a range of opportunities for marginalized communities.”

In that second message, Calhoun referred to yet another incident of workplace racism.

“About 10 days ago a Boeing employee made an abusive and harassing racial remark to a colleague in one of our facilities,” Calhoun wrote then. “He was quickly suspended, never returned to the workplace, and is no longer a Boeing employee.”

Boeing as a company, as well as its unions, have had to overcome a history of racism. It didn’t hire a single Black employee until the Second World War required all hands on deck for the war effort. Until then, the company’s Machinists union was officially reserved for “members of the white race.”

And while the official culture of both the company and the union have advanced to proclaim support for full civil rights and equality, clearly the 160,000-strong workforce includes some who don’t accept the new message.

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When the International Association of Machinists (IAM) posted an item on Facebook in support of Black Lives Matter on June 16, it drew many comments from members of the union, some supportive and others vociferously dissenting.

On Wednesday, IAM District 751 president Jon Holden called the incident in Everett “appalling.”

“We condemn this behavior and will work to provide a safe, discrimination-free workplace everywhere the IAM represents workers,” Holden said via email.

Deal, in his message Wednesday, wrote that “over the last few weeks the racial inequity our Black teammates face has been top of mind for many of us – and rightfully so.”

“Sadly, race-based harassment, intimidation and discrimination continue to exist in our society,” he said.

Describing the incidents within Boeing as “disheartening and a stark reminder of how far our society has to go,” he asked employees to “respectfully stand up for our values” by speaking up when they witness acts of intimidation or harassment at work and by reporting such behavior.

“I also encourage all of us to listen, learn and talk about the racial inequity and injustice faced by teammates of color,” Deal added.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @dominicgates.

PP

[Woody]

Any volunteers

Boeing's bid to see its 737 Max return to the skies faces a pivotal week with flight safety tests expected to begin.
Pilots and technical experts from regulators and the company are understood to be planning three days of tests, possibly starting on Monday.
Boeing's best-selling aircraft was grounded last year after two crashes killed all 346 people on the flights.
The tests are a milestone for Boeing, but even if they go well, months of further safety checks will be needed.

[Woody]

They’ve started

[OFSO]

Nemo judex in causa sua...

[Woody]

Not coming back quick enough for Norwegian

https://www.ifn.news/posts/norwegian-ai ... 87-orders/

[PHXPhlyer]

Damning watchdog report says Boeing shielded key 737 Max details from FAA
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/politics ... index.html

CNN)Boeing shielded from federal regulators reviewing its 737 Max aircraft the extent and capability of the flawed computer system that ultimately brought down two jets, according to an inspector general report obtained by CNN.

The report also faults the Federal Aviation Administration for poor communication and notes it handed over the vast majority -- 87% -- of certification responsibility to Boeing.
The report, which is expected to be released publicly Wednesday, includes previously undisclosed details about interactions between the agency and planemaker and conclusions about how the process failed. It comes as the FAA is conducting test flights this week of the revised 737 Max, which has been grounded for more than a year since the second fatal crash in March 2019.
The report highlights multiple instances where Boeing presented limited information about the new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, system to regulators, with significant consequences.

It says the company portrayed the system "as a modification" to an existing system "that would only activate under certain limited conditions," leading the FAA to focus its review on other aspects of the plane. One FAA engineer recalled MCAS was "presented briefly with limited details."
In fact, when Boeing engineers briefed the agency at an important meeting on differences between the Max and earlier versions of its 737 aircraft, "there were only 2 lines of text within those almost 500 slides—covered over a 2-day period— that referenced MCAS," according to the report.
Another document describing the airplane's stability "included some details regarding MCAS," but not "an interrelated view of how MCAS interacted with other systems, which was spread throughout several documents."
At the same time, Boeing was making the MCAS system more pungent, allowing it to control the plane to a greater degree and activate repeatedly. The report highlights that some FAA employees -- those involved in test flights of the aircraft -- were aware of the changes, and faults the agency for leaving other FAA officials involved in oversight in the dark.
Agency engineers did not conduct a full analysis of the MCAS system, nor understand how it operated, until further scrutiny of the aircraft after the first 737 Max crash in October 2018, according to the report. Boeing subsequently developed a plan for changes to the MCAS system by April 2019. But about a month before that target, a second Max crashed, and the fleet was ultimately grounded worldwide. The crashes killed a combined 346 people.
The inspector general's report comes as Boeing and the FAA are conducting 737 Max test flights, a key step in the FAA's re-evaluation of the plane.
The company said in a statement Wednesday morning that it has "cooperated fully and extensively" with the inspector general's office, and noted that the company "has made substantial changes" to both the plane and corporate structure in response to previous investigations related to the Max.
"We have made robust improvements to the 737 MAX flight control software, including ensuring MCAS cannot be activated based on signals from a single sensor and cannot be activated repeatedly," the statement said. "We have dedicated all resources necessary to ensure that the improvements to the 737 MAX are comprehensive and thoroughly tested."
The Department of Transportation's general counsel wrote in a memo after reviewing the report that it "reveals some strengths in FAA's aircraft certification process, as well as areas for improvement." Changes at the FAA, the memo said, will "ensure integrity and transparency with regard to information sharing."
One of the lawmakers who requested the report, House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, said the report highlights "Boeing's efforts to conceal critical information from regulators in its rush to get the MAX to market."
The report also scrutinized the delegation of FAA safety reviews to Boeing, a common practice in US airplane design and manufacturing.
It noted that 42 FAA employees oversee 1,500 Boeing employees with certification authority. Internal Boeing documents previously released showed Boeing employees, including a key official in the certification effort, mocking the agency and slamming the aircraft's design.
The document notes that Boeing and the FAA were looking into "concerns about undue pressure on" Boeing employees who had FAA authority to sign off on aspects of the plane. It said that future reports on the delegation process would be forthcoming.
Congress is currently working on legislation to overhaul the delegation process. FAA Administrator Steven Dickson recently said he does not believe one aspect of that bi-partisan plan is necessary: That the FAA, rather than manufacturers like Boeing, determine which employees are put in the pipeline for the delegation authority.
As the re-certification process for the aircraft is underway, Boeing now supports simulator training for all 737 Max pilots, including those who flew earlier versions of the 737 -- something that pilots union officials said should have been required in the first place. The FAA said this week it has not yet determined requirements for pilot training.
The company designed the 737 Max with the goal of avoiding simulator training, which would be expensive for airlines buying the plane.
But even if simulator training had been required prior to the initial 737 Max debut, pilots may still have been in the dark about the MCAS system, because notes about MCAS were removed from training documents, the report notes.
"Therefore, any simulator training, while not proposed, probably would not have included MCAS."

[Boac]

From sight of some of the emails he sent, I reckon 'Captain' Forkner is going to get it in the neck.

[Undried Plum]

Not coming back quick enough for Norwegian

https://www.ifn.news/posts/norwegian-ai ... 87-orders/

Long before Covid, Norwegian was looking like a dead company walking. Now it has the look and 'feel' that Flymaybe had in its final year or two.

Having no less than two fleets grounded for unrelated airworthiness issues to be resolved was a right bugger. Add to that the fact that the capitalisation structure of the firm is heavily debt-based, and it's hard to see any resilience for a massive global aviation catastrophe like this pandemic.

Cancelling those 97 orders was totally predictable and completely inevitable.