146-469: The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System ( MCAS ) is a flight stabilizing feature developed by Boeing that became notorious for its role in two fatal accidents of the 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019, which killed all 346 passengers and crew among both flights. Because the CFM International LEAP engine used on the 737 MAX was larger and mounted further forward from the wing and higher off
292-485: A corporate citizenship program centered on charitable contributions in five areas: education, health, human services , environment , the arts , culture, and civic engagement . In February 2012, Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship partnered with the Insight Labs to develop a new model for foundations to more effectively lead the sectors they serve. The company is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition ,
438-423: A single point of failure that allowed false data to trigger MCAS to pitch the nose downward and force the aircraft into a dive. "Inadvertently, the door was now opened to serious system misbehavior during the busy and stressful moments right after takeoff", said Jenkins of The Wall Street Journal . The FAA did not conduct a safety analysis on the changes. It had already approved the previous version of MCAS, and
584-426: A " pan-pan ." The crew later decided to cancel the pan-pan and continue the flight to Jakarta. The aircraft's maintenance logbook revealed that the aircraft suffered an unspecified navigation failure on the captain's side, while the first officer's side was reported to be in good condition. Passengers recounted that the aircraft had suffered an engine problem and were told not to board it, as engineers tried to fix
730-558: A May 29 interview with CBS, Boeing admitted that it had botched the software implementation and lamented the poor communications. On September 26, the National Transportation Safety Board criticized Boeing's inadequate testing of the 737 MAX, and pointed out that Boeing made erroneous assumptions on pilots' response to alerts in 737 MAX, triggered by activation of MCAS due to a faulty signal from an angle-of-attack sensor. The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR),
876-462: A Washington D.C.–based coalition of more than 400 major companies and NGOs that advocate a larger International Affairs Budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad. A series of U.S. diplomatic cables show how U.S. diplomats and senior politicians intervene on behalf of Boeing to help boost the company's sales. In 2007 and 2008, the company benefited from over US$ 10 billion of long-term loan guarantees, helping finance
1022-484: A classic runaway stabilizer problem, but initially as ambiguous unreliable airspeed and altitude situations, masking MCAS." In a legal complaint against Boeing, the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association states: An MCAS failure is not like a runaway stabilizer. A runaway stabilizer has continuous un-commanded movement of the tail, whereas MCAS is not continuous and pilots (theoretically) can counter
1168-518: A company providing commercial launch services sending satellites to geostationary orbit from floating platforms. In 2000, Boeing acquired the satellite segment of Hughes Electronics . In December 1996, Boeing announced its intention to merge with McDonnell Douglas , which, following regulatory approval, was completed on August 4, 1997. The delay was caused by objections from the European Commission , which ultimately placed three conditions on
1314-432: A hundred elements of the crash chronology, without ranking them. Lion Air expressed objections because NTSC's draft, according to a source who requested anonymity, attributed 25 lapses to Lion Air out of 41 lapses found. Also, doubts arose about the acceptability of some photographs used in the investigation, as they could be fabricated evidence of repair to the doomed Lion Air MAX. The company opposed raising an issue about
1460-501: A major U.S. airline misled its pilots by telling that the MCAS could be overcome by "applying opposite control-column input to activate the column cutout switches". Former pilot and CBS aviation & safety expert Chesley Sullenberger testified, "The logic was that if MCAS activated, it had to be because it was needed, and pulling back on the control wheel shouldn't stop it." In October, Sullenberger wrote, "These emergencies did not present as
1606-561: A new software function in the flight control system caused the aircraft to nose down. That function, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), had been intentionally omitted by Boeing from aircraft documentation for aircrews, so the Lion Air pilots did not know about it nor know what it could do. Investigators concluded that an external device on the aircraft, the angle-of-attack (AoA) sensor,
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#17328545439961752-669: A potential downgrade to junk status . On November 1, 2024, the IAM endorsed an improved contract offer which would see a 38% pay rise over four years, a $ 12,000 ratification bonus, and the reinstatement of an annual bonus scheme. On November 5, 2024, Boeing workers accepted the pay deal, ending a seven-week-long walk out. The company's three divisions are: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services. In 2018 and 2019 , two Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body passenger airplanes crashed, leaving 346 people dead and no survivors. In response, aviation regulators and airlines around
1898-507: A profit of US$ 9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 31% to US$ 41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives. Boeing has been accused of unethical practices (in violation of the Procurement Integrity Act ) while attempting to submit a revised bid to NASA for their lunar landing project. The firm has been criticized for supplying and profiting from wars , including
2044-447: A proposed MCAS software enhancement to the FAA for certification. ... the FAA has tested this enhancement to the 737 MAX flight control system in both the simulator and the aircraft. The testing, which was conducted by FAA flight test engineers and flight test pilots, included aerodynamic stall situations and recovery procedures." After a series of delays, the updated MCAS software was released to
2190-455: A team commissioned by the FAA for 737 MAX investigation, concluded that FAA failed to properly review MCAS. Boeing failed to provide adequate and updated technical information regarding the MCAS system to FAA during Boeing 737 Max certification process, and had not carried out a thorough verification by stress-testing of the MCAS system. On October 18, Boeing turned over a discussion from 2016 between two employees that revealed prior issues with
2336-452: A way that it had not previously been used. MCAS used the stabilizer to change the column force feel, not trim the aircraft. This is a case of using the control surface in a new way that the regulations never accounted for and should have required an issue paper for further analysis by the FAA. If an issue paper had been required, the JATR team believes it likely would have identified the potential for
2482-458: A westward direction before circling around to a northeast heading, which it held until crashing offshore northeast of Jakarta in waters estimated to be as much as 35 m (115 ft) deep. The flight crew had requested clearance to return to the Jakarta airport 19 nmi (35 km; 22 mi) into the flight. The accident site was located 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) off the coast of
2628-515: Is among the largest global aerospace manufacturers ; it is the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world based on 2022 revenue and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing was founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle , Washington, on July 15, 1916. The present corporation is the result of the merger of Boeing with McDonnell Douglas on August 1, 1997. As of 2023,
2774-445: Is distinctly not and instead a system that's designed to provide handling qualities for the pilot that meet pilot preferences. The aircraft had to perform well in a low-speed stall test. The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) "considers that the STS /MCAS and elevator feel shift (EFS) functions could be considered as stall identification systems or stall protection systems, depending on
2920-452: Is responsible for about 11% of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector. Aviation's share of the greenhouse gas emissions was poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel . Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80%. The solution blends algae fuels with existing jet fuel . Boeing executives said
3066-557: Is still in use to certify current and future aircraft and system designs. The FAA could, for example, randomly sample pools from the worldwide pilot community to obtain a more representative assessment of cockpit situations. The updates proposed by Boeing focus mostly on MCAS software. In particular, there have been no public statements regarding reverting the functionality of the stabilizer trim cutout switches to pre-MAX configuration. A veteran software engineer and experienced pilot suggested that software changes may not be enough to counter
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#17328545439963212-539: Is sustainable only as long as orders are good and delivery rates are increasing. From 2013 to 2019, Boeing spent over $ 60 billion on dividends and stock buybacks , twice as much as the development costs of the 787. In 2020, Boeing's second quarter revenue was $ 11.8 billion as a result of the pandemic slump. Due to higher sales in other divisions and an influx in deliveries of commercial jetliners in 2021, second quarter revenue increased by 44%, reaching nearly $ 17 billion. Revenues decreased 15 percent to $ 16.9 billion in
3358-539: The Fortune Global 500 list (2020). The Boeing Company started in 1916, when American lumber industrialist William E. Boeing founded Pacific Aero Products Company in Seattle, Washington. Shortly before doing so, he and Conrad Westervelt created the "B&W" seaplane . In 1917, the organization was renamed Boeing Airplane Company, with William Boeing forming Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation in 1928. In 1929,
3504-576: The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus military aerial refueling tanker . The KC-46, which is based on the Boeing 767 , requires MCAS because the weight and balance shifts when the tanker redistributes and offloads fuel. On that aircraft, the MCAS is overridden and disengaged when a pilot makes a stick input. Another MCAS implementation was developed for the Boeing 737 MAX, because its larger, repositioned engines changed
3650-480: The COVID-19 pandemic with plans for a total 10% cut of its workforce or approximately 16,000 positions. In July 2020, Boeing reported a loss of $ 2.4 billion as a result of the pandemic and the Boeing 737 MAX groundings , and that it was in response planning to make more job and production cuts. On August 18, 2020, CEO Dave Calhoun announced further job cuts; on October 28, 2020, nearly 30,000 employees were laid off, as
3796-487: The Finance and Development Inspection Agency [ id ] , three Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources employees, and three Indonesian National Police officers. There were also three public prosecutors, six members of Bangka Belitung Regional People's Representative Council members, and three judges of Indonesia's High Court and National Court. Two confirmed foreigners were among those on board: The pilot
3942-854: The Israel-Gaza war (2023-present) , demonstrations sought to block shipments of weapons for the Israel Defense Forces at Boeing facilities in St. Charles, Missouri , Tukwila, Washington , and Gresham, Oregon . Students at Florida State University , University of Washington , Saint Louis University , University of Missouri–St. Louis , and Washington University in St. Louis called for their institutions to break partnerships with Boeing. Research estimates that Boeing has made between $ 50 billion to $ 100 billion in revenue from sales to Israel. In 2024, students on hunger strike at Brown University named Boeing among
4088-613: The National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) of Indonesia criticized Boeing's design and the FAA's certification process for MCAS and said the issues were compounded by maintenance issues and lapses by Lion Air’s repair crews and its pilots, as well as Xtra Aerospace, a US-based company that supplied Lion Air with the AoA sensor. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration PK-LQP, line number 7058, and powered by two CFM International LEAP engines. and
4234-717: The SAE International standards ARP4754 and ARP4761 . MCAS was designated a "hazardous failure" system. This classification corresponds to failures causing "a large reduction in safety margins" or "serious or fatal injury to a relatively small number of the occupants", but nothing "catastrophic". The MCAS was designed with the assumption, approved by FAA, that pilots would react to an unexpected activation within three seconds. The MCAS design parameters originally envisioned automated corrective actions to be taken in cases of high AoA and g-forces beyond normal flight conditions. Test pilots routinely push aircraft to such extremes, as
4380-565: The Simi Hills of eastern Ventura County in Southern California , had been contaminated by Rocketdyne with toxic and radioactive waste . Boeing agreed to a cleanup agreement with the EPA in 2017. Clean-up studies and lawsuits are in progress. On July 19, 2022, Boeing announced a renewed partnership with Mitsubishi to produce carbon-neutral and sustainable solutions. The airline industry
4526-431: The horizontal stabilizer , which is distinct from an anti-stall device such as a stick pusher , which physically moves the pilot's control column forward and engages the airplane's elevators when the airplane is approaching a stall. Boeing's former CEO Dennis Muilenburg said "[MCAS] has been reported or described as an anti-stall system, which it is not. It's a system that's designed to provide handling qualities for
Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System - Misplaced Pages Continue
4672-424: The jackscrew effectively jammed in place. For the 737-200, a workaround called the "roller coaster" technique was developed. Counter-intuitively, to correct an excessive deflection causing a dive the pilot first pushes the nose down further, before easing back to gently raise the nose again. During this easing back period, the elevator deflection reduces or even reverses, its force on the jackscrew does likewise and
4818-480: The jatropha plant to see if it is a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel. A two-hour test flight using a 50–50 mixture of the new biofuel with Jet A-1 in a Rolls-Royce RB-211 engine of a 747–400 was completed on December 30, 2008. The engine was then removed to be studied to identify any differences between the Jatropha blend and regular Jet A1. No effects on performances were found. In 2008 and 2009, Boeing
4964-598: The "runaway stabilizer trim" checklist as a memory item for pilots. Mike Sinnett, vice president and general manager for the Boeing New Mid-Market Airplane (NMA) since July 2019, repeatedly described the procedure as a "memory item". However, some airlines view it as an item for the quick reference card. The FAA issued a recommendation about memory items in an Advisory Circular, Standard Operating Procedures and Pilot Monitoring Duties for Flight Deck Crewmembers : "Memory items should be avoided whenever possible. If
5110-487: The "underwater search area" was widened to 270 nmi (500 km; 310 mi). Joint search-and-rescue team announced that some engine parts were found in the search area. One of the aircraft's landing gear was recovered in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the Disaster Victim Identification team stated that at least 250 body parts had been recovered from the crash site. A volunteer rescue diver died during
5256-463: The 737 MAX's engine placement. The Seattle Times noted that while the new software fix Boeing proposed "will likely prevent this situation recurring, if the preliminary investigation confirms that the Ethiopian pilots did cut off the automatic flight-control system, this is still a nightmarish outcome for Boeing and the FAA. It would suggest the emergency procedure laid out by Boeing and passed along by
5402-438: The 737. Following the Lion Air accident, Boeing issued an Operations Manual Bulletin (OMB) on November 6, 2018, to outline the many indications and effects resulting from erroneous AOA data and provided instructions to turn off the motorized trim system for the remainder of the flight, and trim manually instead. Until Boeing supplemented the manuals and training, pilots were unaware of the existence of MCAS due to its omission from
5548-452: The Boeing 737 MAX 9. The FAA announced on January 12 that it was expanding its scrutiny of Boeing, with a production audit of the 737 MAX 9. On February 6, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report indicating that four bolts used to secure the panel had been removed, and appeared not to have been replaced, at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington . In March 2024,
5694-570: The Boeing 737) and received his training in California ; and First Officer Harvino (41), an Indonesian who had 5,174 hours of flight experience, 4,286 of them on the Boeing 737. The six flight attendants were also Indonesians. The aircraft took off from Jakarta on 29 October 2018 at 6:20 am local time (28 October 2018, 11:20 pm UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang at 7:20 am. It took off in
5840-592: The Boeing Company's corporate headquarters is located in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia . The company is organized into three primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), and Boeing Global Services (BGS). In 2021, Boeing recorded $ 62.3 billion in sales. Boeing is ranked 54th on the Fortune 500 list (2020), and ranked 121st on
5986-510: The CVR. On 23 November, investigators concluded the victim identification process. Out of 189 people on board, 125 (89 men and 36 women) were identified, including the two foreigners. Another 64 bodies were unaccounted for. Lion Air paid US$ 2.8 million for a second attempt to search for the CVR between 19 and 29 December, using the offshore supply vessel MPV Everest . Divers detected a signal from an underwater locator beacon coming from underneath
Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System - Misplaced Pages Continue
6132-404: The FAA after the Lion Air crash is wholly inadequate and failed the Ethiopian flight crew." Boeing and the FAA decided that the AoA display and an AoA disagree light, which signals if the sensors give different readings, were not critical features for safe operation. Boeing charged extra for the addition of the AoA indicator to the primary display. In November 2017, Boeing engineers discovered that
6278-487: The FAA in May 2019. On May 16, Boeing announced that the completed software update was awaiting approval from the FAA. The flight software underwent 360 hours of testing on 207 flights. Boeing also updated existing crew procedures. On April 4, 2019, Boeing publicly acknowledged that MCAS played a role in both accidents. The FAA and Boeing both disputed media reports describing MCAS as an anti-stall system, which Boeing asserted it
6424-563: The FAA requires airplanes to perform as expected. Before the MCAS, test pilot Ray Craig determined the plane did not fly smoothly, in part due to the larger engines. Craig would have preferred an aerodynamic solution, but Boeing decided to implement a control law in software. According to a news report in the Wall Street Journal , engineers who had worked on the KC-46A Pegasus tanker, which includes an MCAS function, suggested MCAS to
6570-477: The FAA was concerned by whether the 737 MAX system complied with regulations. The American Airlines flight manual contains a similar notice regarding the thumb switches but does not specify conditions where the manual wheel may be needed. Boeing's CEO Muilenburg, when asked about the non-disclosure of MCAS, cited the "runaway stabilizer trim" procedure as part of the training manual. He added that Boeing's bulletin pointed to that existing flight procedure. Boeing views
6716-530: The FAA, Transport Canada , and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) evaluated flight test results with MCAS disabled, and suggested that the MAX might not have needed MCAS to conform to certification standards. Later that year, an FAA Airworthiness Directive approved design changes for each MAX aircraft, which would prevent MCAS activation unless both AoA sensors register similar readings, eliminate MCAS's ability to repeatedly activate, and allow pilots to override
6862-591: The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines blowout. In March 2024, CEO Dave Calhoun and board chairman Larry Kellner both announced they would be stepping down from their positions. In 2006, the UCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction released a study showing that Boeing's Santa Susana Field Laboratory , a site that was a former Rocketdyne test and development site in
7008-424: The MAX than on the earlier 737 NG. On previous aircraft, one cutoff switch deactivates the thumb buttons on the control yoke that pilots use to move the horizontal stabilizer; the other cutoff switch disables automatic control of the horizontal stabilizer by autopilot or STS /MCAS. On the MAX, both switches are wired in series and perform the same function: they cut off all electric power to the stabilizer, both from
7154-522: The MAX). This problem was originally found in the early 1980s with the 737-200 model. When the elevator operated to raise or lower the nose, it set up a strong force on the trim jackscrew that opposed any corrective force from the control systems. When attempting to correct an unwanted deflection using the manual trim wheel , exerting enough hand force to overcome the force exerted by the elevator became increasingly difficult as speed and deflection increased and
7300-499: The MCAS function, the specific failure modes that could lead to unintended MCAS activation (such as an erroneous high AOA input to the MCAS) were not simulated as part of these functional hazard assessment validation tests. As a result, additional flight deck effects (such as IAS DISAGREE and ALT DISAGREE alerts and stick shaker activation) resulting from the same underlying failure (for example, erroneous AOA) were not simulated and were not in
7446-421: The MCAS function, the JATR team believes the agency likely would have required an issue paper for using the stabilizer in a way that it had not previously been used; this [might have] identified the potential for the stabilizer to overpower the elevator." The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is a flight control law built into the Boeing 737 MAX 's flight control computer , designed to help
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#17328545439967592-411: The MCAS system. Boeing's own internal design guidelines related to the 737 MAX's development stated that the system should "not have any objectionable interaction with the piloting of the airplane" and "not interfere with dive recovery". The operation of MCAS violated those. On September 26, 2019, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the results of its review of potential lapses in
7738-604: The accident was known. The Indonesian Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, later stated that his ministry would hold talks with the Australian government about the warning. The government-owned social insurance company Jasa Raharja announced that the victims' families would each receive 50 million rupiah (US$ 3495) in compensation. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the Indonesian media were warned by Indonesian Broadcasting Commission for their unethical coverage of
7884-407: The agency's rules did not require it to take a second look because the changes did not affect how the plane operated in extreme situations. The Joint Authorities Technical Review found the technology unprecedented: "If the FAA technical staff had been fully aware of the details of the MCAS function, the JATR team believes the agency likely would have required an issue paper for using the stabilizer in
8030-517: The aircraft crash with a steep nose-down angle. Boats from the platform were immediately deployed and debris from the crashed aircraft was found shortly after. On board the aircraft were 189 people: 181 passengers (178 adults, one child, and two infants), as well as six cabin crew and two pilots. All 189 passengers and crew on board were killed. Among the passengers were 38 civil servants. They consisted of 20 Ministry of Finance employees, 10 Audit Board of Indonesia employees, two auditors from
8176-422: The aircraft emulate the handling characteristics of the earlier Boeing 737 Next Generation . According to an international Civil Aviation Authorities team review (JATR) commissioned by the FAA, MCAS may be a stall identification or protection system, depending on the natural (unaugmented) stall characteristics of the aircraft. Boeing considered MCAS part of the flight control system, and elected to not describe it in
8322-480: The aircraft had crashed; Muhammad Syaugi, head of Basarnas, later confirmed that casualties had occurred, without specifying a number. The Transportation Ministry set up crisis centres in Jakarta and Pangkal Pinang. Lion Air offered free flights for the families of the victims to Jakarta. On 30 October, more than 90 relatives were flown to Jakarta for the identification of the victims. Chairman of Lion Air Edward Sirait stated that accommodation had been provided for
8468-405: The aircraft had suffered a serious incident, which left many passengers traumatized. Passengers in the cabin reported heavy shaking and a smell of burnt rubber inside the cabin. At one point, the aircraft had dropped more than 61 m (200 ft) in a few seconds. The seat-belt sign was never turned off from takeoff to landing. A recording of ATC communications indicated that the pilot had called
8614-534: The aircraft was ready for takeoff on the morning of the accident. Information later emerged that a third pilot was on the flight to Jakarta and told the crew to cut electrical power to the stabilizer trim motors. This method is a standard memory item in the 737 checklist and, on this flight, it fixed the problem. Subsequently, the National Transportation Safety Committee confirmed the presence of an off-duty Boeing 737 MAX 8 qualified pilot in
8760-667: The aircraft wreckage and were able to fix the approximate position of the CVR, but did not succeed in recovering it. The NTSC funded a further underwater search using Indonesian Navy vessel KRI Spica , which started on 8 January 2019 and continued until the CVR was recovered on 14 January. The cockpit voice recorder was found at a depth of 30 m (98 ft) covered by mud that was 8 m (26 ft) thick. The Lion Air aircraft flight recorders were retrieved with assistance from Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau , which sent on 29 October 2018, three specialists and an underwater locator beacon detector to help recover
8906-475: The aircraft's flight characteristics compared to the preceding 737 generations. When a single angle of attack (AoA) sensor indicated that the angle was too high, MCAS would trim the horizontal stabilizer in the nose-down direction. Boeing did this to meet the company's objective of minimizing training requirements for pilots already qualified on the 737NG, which Boeing felt would make the new variant more appealing to aircraft customers that would prefer not to bear
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#17328545439969052-413: The aircraft's fuselage and assorted debris, but had yet to find the onboard flight recorders . Air Marshal Muhammad Syaugi, head of Basarnas, suggested that most of the victims were still inside the fuselage, as in the days following the crash rescue personnel only managed to recover a small number of body parts. Poor underwater visibility and strong sea current hampered the search and rescue effort. On
9198-458: The aircraft, Boeing published some details of new system requirements for the MCAS software and for the cockpit displays, which it began implementing in the wake of the prior accident five months earlier: On March 27, Daniel Elwell , the acting administrator of the FAA, testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, saying that on January 21, "Boeing submitted
9344-463: The aircraft, aerodynamic forces on the elevator create an opposing force, effectively paralyzing the jackscrew mechanism that moves the stabilizer. It becomes very difficult for pilots to hand crank the trim wheel . The problem was encountered on earlier 737 versions, and a "roller coaster" emergency technique for handling the flight condition was documented in 1982 for the 737-200 but did not appear in training documentation for later versions (including
9490-551: The aircraft. They would also examine the health history of the crew of Flight 610. The speaker of the People's Representative Council, Bambang Soesatyo , later asked the government to enforce stricter rules for the aviation industry and to audit every airliner in the country. On 1 November, Indonesian Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi announced that the government would evaluate every low-cost carrier in Indonesia. As 20 of
9636-577: The airplane manufacturer was increasingly losing money due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2022, Boeing announced plans to move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia , a suburb of Washington, D.C. The company said that this decision was made in part to concentrate on its defense work with "proximity to our customers and stakeholders". After the January 2024 Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and other incidents, one shareholder proposed relocating
9782-401: The airplane was malfunctioning, and ultimately plummeted nose-down to the ground at terrifying speed". While the investigations into the crashes of the 737 MAX were proceeding, the Boeing 777X , the company's largest capacity twin jet and the largest ever built, made its maiden flight on January 25, 2020, but also experienced problems. Following an incident during flight testing in 2021,
9928-656: The area. Faint "pings" from the ULB attached to the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder were also heard. On 4 November, nearly 1,400 personnel, including 175 divers, were dispatched to the crash site; 69 ships, five helicopters and thirty ambulances were also dispatched. The Head of the National Search and Rescue Agency Muhammad Syaugi announced that the search-and-rescue operation would be extended for another three days. On 10 November, Basarnas ended its search for victims, but on 22 November, were continuing to search intensively for
10074-503: The cockpit but did not confirm the role of this person in fixing the problem, and denied that any recording existed of the previous flight in the CVR of Lion Air Flight 610. The erratic nature of the flight path led Indonesian aviation expert Gerry Soejatman to speculate that the pitot tubes , used in the airspeed indication system, may have played a role in the crash; they had contributed to previous crashes. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency reported that
10220-553: The company was collaborating with Brazilian biofuels maker Tecbio , Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand, and other fuel developers around the world. As of 2007, Boeing had tested six fuels from these companies, and expected to test 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them". Boeing also joined other aviation-related members in the Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) in June 2008. Air New Zealand and Boeing are researching
10366-492: The company was renamed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation , followed by the acquisition of several aircraft makers such as Avion, Chance Vought , Sikorsky Aviation , Stearman Aircraft , Pratt & Whitney , and Hamilton Metalplane. In 1931, the group merged its four smaller airlines into United Airlines . In 1934, aircraft manufacturing was required to be separate from air transportation. Therefore, Boeing Airplane Company became one of three major groups to arise from
10512-419: The company's hiding of information from the safety regulators: a criminal monetary penalty of $ 243.6 million, $ 1.77 billion of damages to airline customers, and a $ 500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund. In September 2022, Boeing was ordered to pay a further $ 200 million over charges of misleading investors about safety issues related to these crashes. In March 2023, Boeing disputed in court filings that
10658-408: The company. The average salary at Boeing was $ 76,784 in 2011, as reported by former employees. In 2022, Rory Kennedy made a documentary film, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing , streamed by Netflix . She said about the 21st-century history of Boeing "There were many decades when Boeing did extraordinary things by focusing on excellence and safety and ingenuity. Those three virtues were seen as
10804-624: The corporate headquarters back to the Seattle area in hopes of getting engineering and quality control teams on-site access to key decision-makers. Boeing's board soundly dismissed the attempt. In February 2023, Boeing announced plans for laying off approximately 2,000 of its workers from finances and human resources. In May 2023, Boeing acquired autonomous eVTOL air taxi startup Wisk Aero . In June 2024, Boeing agreed to re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems , its longtime supplier of airplane parts, which had been established in 2005 when Boeing spun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. The deal
10950-465: The costs of differences training. However, according to interviews with agency directors describing assessments undertaken after the MCAS-induced crashes had occurred, both the FAA and EASA felt that the aircraft would have had acceptable stability without MCAS. On Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 , investigators determined that MCAS was triggered by falsely high AoA inputs, as if
11096-609: The crash investigation. Budi said the ministry had also suspended an unspecified number of Lion Air technicians who had cleared the aircraft for its final flight. Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) launched a search-and-rescue operation, with assistance from the Indonesian Air Force , the Indonesian Navy , and the Republic of Singapore Navy . Basarnas dispatched about 150 people in boats and helicopters to
11242-541: The crash. Some media were accused of pushing the family members to answer unethical questions. Chairman of Indonesia's Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Abdul Manan, stated that images of debris were broadcast repeatedly and inappropriately. This, in turn, traumatized relatives of the victims. In response, some Indonesians voiced their anger and disappointment on social media. On 31 October, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi temporarily suspended Lion Air's technical director Muhammad Arif from his duties based on
11388-502: The crashes through a disintegration of workplace morale . In June 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration found several 737 MAX defects that Boeing deferred to fix, in violation of regulations . In September 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives concluded its own investigation and cited numerous instances where Boeing dismissed employee concerns with a 737 MAX flight stabilizing feature ( MCAS ) that caused
11534-412: The crew manual and no coverage in training. Boeing first publicly named and revealed the existence of MCAS on the 737 MAX in a message to airline operators and other aviation interests on November 10, 2018, twelve days after the Lion Air crash. As with any other equipment on board an aircraft, the FAA approves a functional "development assurance level" corresponding to the consequences of a failure, using
11680-432: The design and approval of the 737 MAX. The NTSB report concludes that assumptions "that Boeing used in its functional hazard assessment of uncommanded MCAS function for the 737 MAX did not adequately consider and account for the impact that multiple flight deck alerts and indications could have on pilots' responses to the hazard". When Boeing induced a stabilizer trim input that simulated the stabilizer moving consistent with
11826-409: The design team. With the MCAS implemented, new test pilot Ed Wilson said the "MAX wasn't handling well when nearing stalls at low speeds" and recommended MCAS to apply across a broader range of flight conditions. This required the MCAS to function under normal g-forces and, at stalling speeds, deflect the vertical trim more rapidly and to a greater extent—but now it reads a single AoA sensor, creating
11972-611: The devices. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau sent two of its personnel to assist the Indonesian NTSC with the downloading process of the FDR. In August 2019, an early draft of the NTSC report was leaked. The report in circulation blamed design and oversight lapses playing a key role in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash and also identified pilot and maintenance errors as causal factors among
12118-562: The dissolution of United Aircraft and Transport; the other two entities were United Aircraft (later United Technologies ) and United Airlines. In 1960, the company bought Vertol Aircraft Corporation , which at the time, was the biggest independent manufacturer of helicopters . During the 1960s and 1970s, the company diversified into industries such as outer space travel, marine craft, agriculture, energy production and transit systems. In 1995, Boeing partnered with Russian, Ukrainian, and Anglo-Norwegian organizations to create Sea Launch ,
12264-421: The east. Approximately 850 personnel from the National Search and Rescue Agency, National Armed Forces and volunteers participated in the operation. At least 13 bodies were retrieved from the crash site. Indonesian officials confirmed that faint pings had been heard in the search area. On 31 October, acoustic "pings" were reported to have been detected, no further than 3 km (1.6 nmi; 1.9 mi) from
12410-418: The estimated first delivery of the aircraft was delayed until 2024. After further technical problems were discovered in the aircraft in 2022, the release was delayed again until 2025, six years after the original date. On January 5, 2024, on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 , a door plug blowout occurred on a 737 MAX 9 jetliner after the plane had reached just over 16,000 feet, leaving a door-sized hole in
12556-460: The fact. Although it is unclear whether the indicator could have changed the outcome for the ill-fated flights, American Airlines said the disagree indicator provided the assurance in continued operations of the airplane. "As it turned out, that wasn't true." In February 2016, the EASA certified the MAX with the expectation that pilot procedures and training would clearly explain unusual situations in which
12702-478: The fatal crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 soon after takeoff. The Boeing 737 MAX global fleet was grounded by all airlines and operators, and a number of functional issues were raised. The MCAS deflects the horizontal stabilizer four times farther than was stated in the initial safety analysis document. Due to the amount of trim the system applies to the horizontal stabilizer, aerodynamic forces resist pilot control effort to raise
12848-441: The first time since 2008. On October 12, 2024, the company announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, about 10% of its global workforce, "to align with our financial reality". It would also delay the first deliveries of its 777X airliner by a year and recorded $ 5 billion in losses in the third quarter of the year. On October 28, Boeing initiated a significant share sale, valued at nearly $ 19 billion, to address cash-flow issues and avoid
12994-458: The flight manual or in training materials, based on the fundamental design philosophy of retaining commonality with the 737NG . Minimizing the functional differences between the Boeing 737 MAX and Next Generation aircraft variants allowed both variants to share the same type rating . Thus, airlines can save money by employing and training one pool of pilots to fly both variants of the Boeing 737 interchangeably. When activated, MCAS directly engages
13140-438: The fuselage and the aircraft made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport successfully with several people onboard injured, although all had subsequently been "medically cleared". The FAA mandated immediate inspections of all 737 MAX 9s fitted with door plugs, thereby grounding 171 aircraft. United Airlines found loose bolts on jets grounded by the FAA, raising questions about possible systemic problems with
13286-426: The ground than on previous generations of the 737, Boeing discovered that the aircraft had a tendency to push the nose up when operating in a specific portion of the flight envelope (flaps up, high angle of attack, manual flight). MCAS was intended to mimic the flight behavior of the previous Boeing 737 Next Generation . The company indicated that this change eliminated the need for pilots to have simulator training on
13432-447: The group of eight current search points, which were possibly from one of the underwater locator beacons (ULBs) attached to the aircraft's flight recorders. The first victim was identified on 31 October. At the time, more than a dozen body parts had been found by authorities. Some of the parts had drifted more than 5 km (2.7 nmi; 3.1 mi) in the sea current. Police also reported that 152 DNA samples had been collected from
13578-458: The highest-ever tax breaks at the state level in 2013. Boeing's spent US$ 16.9 million on lobbying expenditures in 2009. In the 2008 presidential election , Barack Obama "was by far the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from Boeing employees and executives, hauling in US$ 197,000 – five times as much as John McCain , and more than the top eight Republicans combined". Boeing has
13724-463: The island of Java. Communication between air traffic control (ATC) and Flight 610 was suddenly lost at 6:33 am. ATC informed the National Search and Rescue Agency , which deployed three ships and a helicopter to the area. At 7:30 am, the agency received reports that Flight 610 had crashed a few kilometres (miles) from an offshore oil platform . Workers on the platform reportedly saw
13870-425: The key to profit. It could work, and beautifully. And then they were taken over by a group that decided Wall Street was the end-all, be-all." Lion Air Flight 610 Lion Air Flight 610 ( JT610 / LNI610 ) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport , Tangerang , to Depati Amir Airport , Pangkal Pinang , in Indonesia. On 29 October 2018, the Boeing 737 MAX operating
14016-515: The latter won, and that this may have contributed to the events leading up to the 737 MAX crash crisis. Boeing's corporate headquarters moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. In 2018, the company opened its first factory in Europe at Sheffield , UK, reinforced by a research partnership with the University of Sheffield . In May 2020, the company cut over 12,000 jobs due to the drop in air travel during
14162-742: The list of corporations to divest from. Five protesters in solidarity with the Palestinian cause were arrested on felony charges after blocking entrances to a Boeing facility in Heath, Ohio . The student union at Washington University in St. Louis passed a resolution calling on the university to divest from Boeing. The key trends of Boeing are (as at the financial year ending December 31): Between 2010 and 2018, Boeing increased its operating cash flow from $ 3 to $ 15.3 billion, sustaining its share price, by negotiating advance payments from customers and delaying payments to its suppliers. This strategy
14308-438: The manual trim eases up. The workaround was included in the pilot's emergency procedures and in the training schedule. Boeing The Boeing Company , or simply Boeing ( / ˈ b oʊ ɪ ŋ / ), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes , rotorcraft , rockets , satellites , and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing
14454-402: The memory unit from its housing. Despite the damage, investigators were able to recover data from the aircraft's most recent 19 flights spanning 69 hours, and planned to begin analysis on 5 November. On 2 November, the joint search-and-rescue team deployed more than 850 personnel and 45 vessels to the crash site. The aerial search area was widened to 190 nmi (350 km; 220 mi) and
14600-477: The merger: exclusivity agreements with three US airlines would be terminated, separate accounts would be maintained for the McDonnell-Douglas civil aircraft business, and some defense patents were to be made available to competitors. In 2020, Quartz reported that after the merger there was a "clash of corporate cultures, where Boeing's engineers and McDonnell Douglas's bean-counters went head-to-head", which
14746-401: The natural (unaugmented) stall characteristics of the aircraft". The JATR said, "MCAS used the stabilizer to change the column force feel, not trim the aircraft. This is a case of using the control surface in a new way that the regulations never accounted for and should have required an issue paper for further analysis by the FAA. If the FAA technical staff had been fully aware of the details of
14892-422: The need for significant pilot retraining. The software code for the MCAS function and the computer for executing the software are built to Boeing's specifications by Collins Aerospace, formerly Rockwell Collins . As an automated corrective measure, the MCAS was given full authority to bring the aircraft nose down, and could not be overridden by pilot resistance against the control wheel as on previous versions of
15038-417: The new aircraft. After the fatal crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) referred pilots to a revised trim runaway checklist that must be performed in case of a malfunction. Boeing then received many requests for more information and revealed the existence of MCAS in another message, and that it could intervene without pilot input. According to Boeing, MCAS
15184-424: The night of 29 October was to provide assistance in recovering the aircraft's flight recorders. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau sent two of its personnel to assist with the downloading process of the FDR. The aircraft was used on a flight from Ngurah Rai International Airport , Bali, to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport , Jakarta, the night before the crash. Detailed reports from that flight revealed that
15330-510: The nose of the aircraft down. The pilots did not properly follow the checklist, with the result that MCAS remained active and repeatedly put the aircraft into an unsafe nose-down position until it crashed into the water. After the accident, the United States Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing issued warnings and training advisories to all operators of the Boeing 737 MAX series, reminding pilots to follow
15476-399: The nose-down movement, after which MCAS would move the aircraft tail down again. Moreover, unlike runaway stabilizer, MCAS disables the control column response that 737 pilots have grown accustomed to and relied upon in earlier generations of 737 aircraft. In May 2019, The Seattle Times reported that the two stabilizer cutoff switches, located on the center console, operate differently on
15622-433: The nose. As long as the faulty AOA readings persist, a human pilot "can quickly become exhausted trying to pull the column back". In addition, switches for the horizontal stabilizer trim assist now serve a shared purpose of turning off automated systems such as MCAS as well as the trim buttons on the yoke , whereas in previous 737 models each could be switched off independently. In simulator sessions, pilots were stunned by
15768-479: The operation, starting from 31 October, would focus on finding the fuselage of the aircraft and the flight recorders. The joint search-and-rescue team announced on 31 October that at least three objects, one of which was suspected to be one of the aircraft's wings, were found in the search area. Officials confirmed that "pings" from the aircraft's ULBs were also heard near the area. On 1 November, searchers recovered Flight 610's flight data recorder (FDR), which
15914-718: The passengers were employees of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Sri Mulyani, the Indonesian finance minister , immediately visited the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency's office in Jakarta, seeking coordination and further information. She later announced that Finance Ministry employees should wear a black ribbon for a week to commemorate the victims. Posthumous awards were issued to the 20 victims and scholarships to their children. Minister of Health Nila F Moeloek and Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi visited
16060-574: The photographs in the final accident report. A Boeing technician and engineering team and a team from the US National Transportation Safety Board arrived on 31 October to help with the investigation being conducted by the NTSC. Personnel from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and engine manufacturer GE Aviation were also sent to Indonesia. A team from Singapore that had already arrived on
16206-490: The pilot that meet pilot preferences." The 737 MAX's larger CFM LEAP-1B engines are fitted farther forward and higher up than in previous models. The aerodynamic effect of its nacelles contributes to the aircraft's tendency to pitch up at high angles of attack (AOA). The MCAS is intended to compensate in such cases, modeling the pitching behavior of previous models, and meet a certain certification requirement, in order to enhance handling characteristics and thus minimizing
16352-468: The plane had pitched up excessively. On both flights, shortly after takeoff, MCAS repeatedly actuated the horizontal stabilizer trim motor to push down the airplane nose. Satellite data for the flights showed that the planes struggled to gain altitude. Pilots reported difficulty controlling the airplane and asked to return to the airport. The implementation of MCAS has been found to disrupt autopilot operations. On March 11, 2019, after China had grounded
16498-410: The problem. While the aircraft was en route to Jakarta, it had problems maintaining a constant altitude, with passengers stating that it was like "a roller-coaster ride." The chief executive officer of Lion Air, Edward Sirait, said the aircraft had a "technical issue" on Sunday night, but this had been addressed in accordance with maintenance manuals issued by the manufacturer. Engineers had declared that
16644-496: The procedure did not enable the crew to prevent the accident, however further investigation revealed that the pilots did not follow the procedure properly. The Civil Aviation Administration of China then ordered the grounding of all 737 MAX planes in China, which led to more groundings across the globe . Boeing admitted MCAS played a role in both accidents, when it acted on false data from a single angle of attack (AoA) sensor. In 2020,
16790-399: The procedure must include memory items, they should be clearly identified, emphasized in training, less than three items, and should not contain conditional decision steps." In November 2018, Boeing told airlines that MCAS could not be overcome by pulling back on the control column to stop a runaway trim as on previous generation 737s. Nevertheless, confusion continued: the safety committee of
16936-613: The purchase of their commercial aircraft in countries including Brazil, Canada, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates , from the Export-Import Bank of the United States , some 65% of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period. In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Boeing for spending US$ 52.29 million on lobbying and not paying taxes from 2008 to 2010, instead getting US$ 178 million in tax rebates , despite making
17082-500: The relatives of the victims. Indonesian President Joko Widodo , who was attending a conference in Bali during the crash, visited the recovery efforts at the Port of Tanjung Priok the next day. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced that its staff would be banned from flying on Lion Air, as well as its subsidiary airlines Batik Air and Wings Air , until the cause of
17228-414: The relatives, and later added that relatives should go to Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport for further information. The Indonesian National Police announced that a trauma-healing team would be provided for the relatives of the victims. Indonesia's People's Representative Council announced on 29 October that they would examine the standard operating procedures of Lion Air and the airworthiness of
17374-512: The route, carrying 181 passengers and 8 crew members, crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff killing all 189 occupants on board. It was the first major accident and hull loss of a 737 MAX, a then recently-introduced aircraft. It is the deadliest accident involving the Boeing 737 family. One diver also died during recovery operations. The subsequent investigation, led by the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), revealed that
17520-413: The runaway stabilizer checklist to avoid letting the MCAS cause similar problems. The company also said that a software update would be made available to update the behavior of MCAS. These training advisories were not fully followed, however, and similar issues caused the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on 10 March 2019, prompting a worldwide grounding of all 737 MAX aircraft. The final report by
17666-448: The same day, Basarnas published the area of the search-and-rescue operation, divided into two main areas. The first was a 62 nmi (115 km; 71 mi) long underwater search area, while the second was a "visual search" area, 124 nmi (230 km; 143 mi) wide. On 30 October, the search area was divided into 13 sectors. The search area was widened to 150 nmi (280 km; 170 mi), reaching as far as Indramayu to
17812-510: The search for Adam Air Flight 574 and Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 . Officials from Basarnas announced that the search-and-rescue operation would be conducted for seven days and be extended by three days if needed. A command centre was set up in Tanjung Priok. On 29 October, the director of operations for Basarnas said that all on board were presumed dead and that the first human remains had been recovered. Divers had located fragments of
17958-429: The search on the afternoon of 2 November, likely from decompression sickness . A second landing gear and both of the aircraft's engines were recovered by search-and-rescue personnel, and the main body of the aircraft was located, 7.5 nmi (13.9 km; 8.6 mi) from the coast of Tanjung Pakis and about 200 m (220 yd) from the location where the FDR was discovered. Divers were immediately dispatched to
18104-510: The second quarter of 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023. The company's operating loss amounted to $ 1.39 billion and its net loss to $ 1.43 billion, while plane deliveries fell to 92 (from 136 in 2023). The company's employment totals are listed below. Approximately 1.5% of Boeing employees are in the Technical Fellowship program, a program through which Boeing's top engineers and scientists set technical direction for
18250-458: The seldom used manual trim wheel would be required to trim the plane, i.e. adjust the angle of the nose; however, the original flight manual did not mention those situations. The EASA certification document referred to simulations whereby the electric thumb switches were ineffective to properly trim the MAX under certain conditions. The EASA document said that after flight testing, because the thumb switches could not always control trim on their own,
18396-472: The site of the accident. Civilian vessels also responded to the reports of a downed aircraft, and the crew of a tugboat reported to authorities in Tanjung Priok that they had witnessed an aircraft crash at 6:45 am and located debris in the water at 7:15 am. The Indonesian Agency for Assessment and Application for Technology deployed the research ship Baruna Jaya , which had been previously used in
18542-433: The stabilizer to overpower the elevator." In November 2019, Jim Marko, a manager of aircraft integration and safety assessment at Transport Canada aviation regulator's National Aircraft Certification Branch questioned the readiness of MCAS. Because new problems kept emerging, he suggested to his peers at FAA, ANAC and EASA to consider the safety benefits of removing MCAS from the MAX. The MCAS came under scrutiny following
18688-468: The stabilizer trim safety assessment report reviewed by the NTSB." The NTSB questioned the long-held industry and FAA practice of assuming the nearly instantaneous responses of highly trained test pilots as opposed to pilots of all levels of experience to verify human factors in aircraft safety. The NTSB expressed concerns that the process used to evaluate the original design needs improvement because that process
18834-468: The standard AoA disagree light cannot independently function without the optional AoA indicator software, a problem affecting 80% of the global fleet that had not ordered the option. The software remedy was scheduled to coincide with the roll out of the elongated 737 MAX 10 in 2020, only to be accelerated by the Lion Air accident . Furthermore, the problem had not been disclosed to the FAA until 13 months after
18980-430: The substantial effort needed to manually crank the trim wheel out of its nose down setting when the trim assist was deactivated. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has stated that there was "no surprise, or gap, or unknown here or something that somehow slipped through a certification process." On April 29, 2019, he stated the design of the aircraft was not flawed and reiterated that it was designed per Boeing's standards. In
19126-500: The system if necessary. The FAA began requiring all MAX pilots to undergo MCAS-related training in flight simulators by 2021. In the 1960s, a basic pitch control system known as the stick shaker was installed in the Boeing 707 to avoid stalling . Later, a similar system to avoid stalling, in this case specifically called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), was implemented on
19272-451: The two fatal accidents, prioritized deadline and budget constraints over safety , and lacked transparency in disclosing essential information to the FAA. It further found that the assumption that simulator training would not be necessary had "diminished safety, minimized the value of pilot training , and inhibited technical design improvements". On January 7, 2021, Boeing settled to pay over $ 2.5 billion after being charged with fraud over
19418-492: The victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (the 2019 crash) experienced any pain and suffering in the final six minutes as the plane was nosediving into the ground, citing "speed of sound" as a defence. Boeing's claim was described as "preposterous" by HuffPost : Passengers aboard the plane, the plaintiffs argued in court, "undeniably suffered horrific emotional distress, pain and suffering, and physical impact/injury while they endured extreme G-forces, braced for impact, knew
19564-411: The victims' relatives. Hundreds of pieces of the aircraft had also been recovered; all of them were transported to Tanjung Priok, Jakarta. Authorities stated that the search area for dead bodies and debris would be focused in the sea off Karawang Regency , a coastal area of Java close to the crash site, as analysis showed that the sea currents in the area would bring debris to the south. A command centre
19710-489: The war in Yemen where its missiles were found to be used for indiscriminate attacks, killing many civilians. In 2017 Boeing signed a deal with Saudi Arabia which included Saudi Arabia buying military aircraft and guided missile systems. In 2023, it was reported that Boeing sent 1,000 small diameter bombs for the first week of Israeli air attacks on Gaza that were shipped from a US Air Force base by Israeli Air Force . During
19856-405: The world grounded all 737 MAX airliners. A total of 387 aircraft were grounded. Boeing's reputation, business, and financial rating suffered after the groundings, as Boeing's strategy, governance, and focus on profits and cost efficiency were questioned. In 2022, Netflix released an exposé, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing , claiming Boeing's corporate merger with McDonnell Douglas led to
20002-399: The yoke buttons and from an automatic system. Thus, on previous aircraft it is possible to disable automatic control of the stabilizer yet to employ electric power assist by operating the yoke switches . On the MAX, with all power to the stabilizer cut, pilots have no choice but to use the mechanical trim wheel in the center console. As pilots pull on the 737 controls to raise the nose of
20148-601: Was an Indian citizen and one passenger was an Italian citizen, former professional cyclist Andrea Manfredi . On 29 October, Indonesia's Transportation Ministry ordered all of the country's airlines to conduct emergency inspections on their 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The ministry also launched a special audit on Lion Air to see if any problems existed with its management system. The Transportation Ministry announced that all Indonesian Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft were airworthy and were allowed to resume normal operations on 31 October. A Basarnas spokesperson confirmed to reporters that
20294-406: Was delivered new to Lion Air on 13 August 2018. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had flown about 800 hours in service. This was the first accident involving a 737 MAX since the type's entry into service on 22 May 2017, and the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737. The accident aircraft had recently received a replacement angle-of-attack (AoA) sensor. The used replacement sensor
20440-436: Was implemented to compensate for an excessive angle of attack by adjusting the horizontal stabilizer before the aircraft would potentially stall . Boeing denied that MCAS was an anti-stall system , and stressed that it was intended to improve the handling of the aircraft while operating in a specific portion of the flight envelope. Following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019, Ethiopian authorities stated that
20586-601: Was initially discussed in March of the same year before being closed on June 30 at $ 4.7 billion. On September 12, 2024, a vote was held among Boeing machinist workers who are also members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) labor union, with 94.6% of participating members rejected a contract offer that the union's bargaining committee had endorsed, with 96% voting to strike. At 12:01 am on September 13, Boeing workers went on strike for
20732-424: Was located at a depth of 32 m (105 ft). The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was reported as not yet found. Haryo Satmiko, deputy chief of National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) ( Indonesian : Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi ), the body investigating the crash, told journalists that the device's poor condition was evidence of the "extraordinary impact" of the crash, which had separated
20878-414: Was miscalibrated due to improper maintenance which sent erroneous data to MCAS. In turn, MCAS responded by pushing the nose down. The problem had occurred on the same aircraft during its immediately preceding flight, and the pilots had recovered using a standard checklist for such a "runaway stabilizer " condition. During the accident flight, the AoA sensor again fed erroneous data to the MCAS, which pushed
21024-420: Was second on the list of Top 100 US Federal Contractors , with contracts totaling US$ 22 billion and US$ 23 billion respectively. Between 1995 and early 2021, the company agreed to pay US$ 4.3 billion to settle 84 instances of misconduct, including US$ 615 million in 2006 in relation to illegal hiring of government officials and improper use of proprietary information. Boeing secured
21170-479: Was set up in Tanjung Pakis, Karawang, to oversee the salvage effort. On the same day, authorities widened the search area from 10 to 15 nmi (19 to 28 km; 12 to 17 mi). In all, 39 ships (including four equipped with sonar ) and 50 divers were deployed to the search area. The National Police announced that 651 personnel had joined and assisted in the search-and-rescue operation. Officials stated that
21316-537: Was supplied by a US-based company, Xtra Aerospace. Subsequent investigations found that the sensor was likely miscalibrated when sent out by Xtra Aerospace, and that Lion Air’s maintenance crews did not test the sensor before returning the aircraft to service. The flight's cockpit crew included Captain Bhavye Suneja (31), an Indian national, who had flown with the airline for more than seven years and had about 6,028 hours of flight experience (including 5,176 hours on
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