One story dominates the aerospace industry headlines just now: the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Mark Broadbent reports
The worldwide grounding followed the crash on March 10, 2019, of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 that killed all 157 on board. This was the second disaster to befall the 737 MAX 8 in five months, after the October 29, 2018, crash off Indonesia of Lion Air Flight 610 that killed all 189 passengers and crew.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8, pictured here on its roll-out in 2015, has been grounded since mid-March. Boeing
The accidents have put numerous issues on the agenda; above all, the aircraft’s Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), attributed as a common factor in the two accidents. Other issues at play are the process of certifying the 737 MAX and, more broadly, how the accidents might affect Boeing’s reputation with the flying public.
