Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by CydeWeys on Monday December 23, 2019 @10:51AM (#21864367)

Because these changes are going to require a new type certification, which defeats the entire point of just making a better 737 in the first place. It will no longer be nearly as appealing to airlines. They might actually be better off just axing the MAX entirely and continuing to produce the 737 NG, and then work on a clean sheet 737 replacement that doesn't suffer from all the compromises inherent in the MAX.

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by mikepurvis on Monday December 23, 2019 @11:32AM (#21864736)

What does that mean for all the Max units currently out there and grounded, though? Obviously there's going to be a huge and drawn-out lawsuit over this, but it seems like at the end of the day, the airlines involved will still end up having to train their pilots on those planes in order to get them back in the air, and at that point, they might as well have a bunch more of them anyway.

And if they're doing the new-plane certification and training anyway, the MCAS no longer has any point and could perhaps just be turned off?

Edit: Perhaps not— this comment asserts that the handling of the airframe sans MCAS is non-compliant with FAA requirements: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21864584

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by tw04 on Monday December 23, 2019 @12:13PM (#21865097)

I would assume a buyback as part of the write-down. I'm not sure any airline wants to be one of the handful of "lucky" ones that have the only MAX's in the air. Sounds like a great way to lose customers.

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by mikepurvis on Monday December 23, 2019 @01:12PM (#21865627)

What a nightmare. Will the 387 delivered planes* be retrofitted somehow, or are they really just scrap at this point? Is there precedent for a recall of this magnitude in commercial aerospace?

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Boeing_737_MAX_orders_...

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by CydeWeys on Monday December 23, 2019 @05:33PM (#21868089)

I wonder if they can put the NG engines on them and use them that way, or is the airframe itself different enough to not make that possible.

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by ibejoeb on Monday December 23, 2019 @12:10PM (#21865075)

I'm sure it's slightly more complicated, but is the MAX not essentially a 737 airframe with larger engines mounter further forward? Seems like there's a lot to work with there. A new type certification, at this point, sounds pretty good. Otherwise, there ought to be a lot of salvageable product there.

I doubt that doing a new type cert is tantamount to engineering an entirely new airframe. I think the thing that makes it less appealing to airlines now is the lack of faith in the integrity of Boeing engineering in general.

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by CydeWeys on Monday December 23, 2019 @05:34PM (#21868096)

Even if you recertify it, it's still a shitty design. If you're gonna do a new type certification it may as well be a new better design, without the decades-long 737 legacy baggage.

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Re:Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens by inferiorhuman on Monday December 23, 2019 @03:56PM (#21867296)

It will no longer be nearly as appealing to airlines.

Airlines are in a tough spot as the only competitors to the 737 are made by Airbus. Airbus is, of course, up to its ears in orders and slowly scaling up the ex-Bombardier lines.

They might actually be better off just axing the MAX entirely and continuing to produce the 737 NG.

NG production ended (not without its own issues), it's not coming back. There is nearly zero chance of the supply chain attempting to retool for the NG. If Boeing can get the 737 MAX certified it will sell.

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