
U.S. to mandate design changes on Boeing 737 MAX 8 after crashes - howard941
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane-usa/u-s-to-mandate-design-changes-on-boeing-737-max-8-after-crashes-idUSKBN1QS2CL
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supercanuck
>U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told reporters regulators would not
hesitate to act if they find a safety issue.

In any other administration, Republican/Democrat, I'd believe them. This one?
With Chao being McConnell's wife.

This makes me feel uncomfortable.

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partiallypro
...and how does that make her unqualified? Because you don't like Mitch
McConnell? Does McConnell have some connection to Boeing I'm unaware of?
Because otherwise I don't see how it's a relevant fact, at least not in this
case.

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supercanuck
Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed,
but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many
products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old
and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are needed, and the
complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I
don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want
great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control
of a plane!

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techie128
Grounding the aircraft as a precaution would have been a wise decision
especially considering that lives once lost cannot be recovered. Monetary
losses, however, can be.

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gscott
Grounding these planes would mean bringing in many dozens of out-of-service
airplanes from storage.

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TorKlingberg
> mandate that Boeing Co implement design changes by April that have been in
> the works for months

I assume that just before this announcement the FAA had a phone call with
Boeing confirming the will have the fix ready by April. This way the FAA gets
to looks tough without harming Boeing in any way.

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supercanuck
Why should they care how they want to look appear? It seems we lack people
willing to behave on principal.

What is the downside to not grounding planes that have killed 300 people until
April when the fix is ready and we can get pilots training? Where in the
constitution does it say we must protect shareholders of airlines and save
them 3 weeks of lost revenue from ...(checks notes)... 30 planes
...(Southwest)?

If something happens between now and then on this airplane, and it may not
even be related to the issue, how much trust is lost in the United States of
America and its aviation industry. it just seems quite short sighted.

