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737 MAX overview:

The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Introduced in 2011, the 737 MAX series aircraft is designed to be an upgrade over the current 737-NG (Next Generation) aircraft, while still being as reliable as its predecessors. This was Boeing’s response to its rival aircraft, the A320neo, which was introduced by Airbus in 2010. According to Boeing, the 737 MAX is designed to be a more fuel-efficient aircraft, with a 20% lower fuel consumption over the first 737-NG aircraft and 8% lower fuel consumption per seat over its competing Airbus A320neo aircraft . Apart from the improved efficiency, Boeing also mentions that the 737 family is known to have lower maintenance costs over the A320 aircraft family, thanks to newer technology, lower weight and fewer components.

Along with the increased efficiency, Boeing has also mentioned that the 737-MAX will be more comfortable to passengers and friendlier to its environment. In comparison to the 737-800, the 737 MAX 8 will leave a 40% smaller noise footprint, leading to a quieter interior and outside environment . The plane will also have larger windows than the A320neo and a brand-new cabin which Boeing calls the “Sky Interior”.

As of March 2019, Boeing has orders of 5,012 737 MAX aircraft and they have delivered over 387 aircraft to various customers .

Incidents:

Lion Air Flight 610: First incident and hull loss:

On 29 October 2018, Lion Air flight 610 crashed into the Java sea 12 minutes after takeoff. The aircraft, a 737 MAX-8, was departing from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia and was scheduled to arrive at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang. The crash killed all the 189 crew and passengers on board the aircraft.

The flight data recorder was recovered on 1 November 2018 and the cockpit voice recorder was found on 14 January 2019 .

Ethiopian Airlines flight 302: Second hull loss:

On 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed into the town of Bishoftu in Ethiopia. The aircraft, which was also a 737 MAX-8, was departing from Addis Ababa Bole international airport in Ethiopia and was scheduled to arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The plane crashed 6 minutes after takeoff, killing all 157 souls on board.

The incident took place just about 5 months after the Lion Air flight 610 crash.

Cause of the crashes:

Shortly after the Lion Air 610 crash, an investigation was commenced. On 7 November 2018, the NTSB confirmed that there were problems with the plane’s Angle of Attack (AoA) sensors . Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed due to the same cause .

The MCAS:

The AoA sensor is a part of a system Boeing calls the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS): a system which is designed to decrease the plane’s tendency to pitch-up at elevated angles of attack. The MCAS tries to prevent the plane from stalling and improve some handling characteristics . Boeing implemented this system on the 737 MAX because of the larger and heavier CFM LEAP-1B engine (compared to the CFM 56 on the 737-NG). Since Boeing was not going to change the height of the aircraft, the newer LEAP engine had to be mounted higher for the 737 MAX to have enough ground clearance. This change ended up affecting the aerodynamics and caused the 737 MAX to pitch-up. This is where the MCAS kicks in. MCAS is designed to prevent this pitch-up from happening by adjusting the horizontal stabilizers of the plane does not stall .

A faulty MCAS means that the 737 MAX will not perform properly, just like what happened with both flight 610 and flight 302. In both these incidents, the Angle of Attack sensor was believed to be faulty and the MCAS received incorrect information from the sensor. Hence, the system tried to correct both the planes’ angle of attack, ultimately sending both planes into a nose-dive.

Aftermath:

After the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, the parties involved with the 737 MAX had started to face the consequences.

In March, immediately after the crash of flight 302, countries which operated the 737 MAX grounded all those aircraft for safety reasons. China was one of the first countries to ground the specific aircraft type and soon after, other countries followed. Ultimately, the United States also chose to ground all 737 MAX aircraft .

The grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft affected major aircraft operators like Southwest and American Airlines. Operators of the aircraft across the world lost somewhere around $600 million and caused their stock prices to go down. Operators in other countries suffered similar fate.

Boeing also suffered a major loss after the flight 302 crash and the aircraft groundings. Boeing's customer Garuda Indonesia announced the cancellation of their order for 50 737 MAX planes worth $4.9 billion . Airlines who have suffered from the 737 MAX grounding have demanded compensation from Boeing for their losses. Boeing’s stock price plummeted over a couple of days and they ended up losing about $29 billion in market value . Boeing was also pressured to develop a fix immediately for the cause of both crashes. They have also received scrutiny from various sources, including the President Trump .

The FAA was also criticized for improperly certifying the 737 MAX aircraft. Currently, both Boeing and the FAA are working together towards a fix for the problem that caused these crashes.