Why and How To Avoid The Boeing 737 MAX Plane
Why People Are Worried About the Boeing 737 MAX
The Boeing 737 MAX has been in the news regularly for crashes and poor quality craftsmanship. It’s no surprise that many people including yourself maybe looking for ways to avoid flying on it. Hey if there are safer alternatives, why not? For a digital nomad or traveler, I understand that safety is a top priority on your list.
The situations in a nutshell
It all began in 2018 with the crash of a Boeing 737 Lion Air flight. At the time, people suspected pilot error due to Lion Air’s controversial safety record. However, just a year later in 2019, another Boeing 737 MAX accident happened on an Ethiopian Airlines flight, killing everyone on board.
It’s uncommon for any new aircraft in this day and age to have fatal accidents so frequently soon after its debut. As we soon found out, these deadly accidents involving the Boeing 737 MAX revealed an underlying problem within Boeing: a decision to prioritize profits over safety.
To make matters worse for Boeing’s reputation, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) grounded all Boeing 737 MAX planes multiple times while they investigated the incidents. Numerous countries around the world also grounded the Boeing 737 MAX due to safety concerns. It wasn’t just an issue in the United States.
The end result was that many airlines cancelled their Boeing 737 MAX orders, due to a lack of confidence in the airplane and to protect their business reputations.
A Brief Overview of the Boeing 737 MAX
The Boeing 737 MAX comes from a lineage of Boeing’s best-selling 737 family of jets. These are twin-engine jets that serve as workhorses for countless medium- and short-haul flights around the world. Prior to the MAX’s issues, the Boeing 737 family was the most popular-selling passenger jet of all time and a major source of revenue for Boeing.
It all started with the Boeing 737 Classic series, which began service with Lufthansa in 1968. This was followed by the Boeing 737 Next-Gen series in 1997. The Boeing 737 family’s reliability and reputation were unbeatable, making them favorites among pilots and aviation enthusiasts.
In 1997, Boeing acquired its main domestic rival, McDonnell Douglas, in a $13 billion stock swap. However, it was McDonnell Douglas’s management philosophy that came to dominate Boeing’s culture. This philosophy focused on cutting costs and boosting stock prices, rather than prioritizing the production of high-quality aircraft. As you might guess, this led to a shift in corporate culture and a decline in the quality of Boeing’s airplanes. McDonnell Douglas was known for producing jets with numerous quality issues, including the DC-10. Ultimately, McDonnell Douglas failed because no one wanted to buy their products. When Boeing bought them out, they placed McDonnell Douglas’s management in charge, which turned out to be a big mistake.
Many argue that the Boeing 737 MAX shouldn’t exist. It was created in response to Boeing’s European competitor, Airbus, which was about to release an update to their A320 family of jets called the Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option). The A320neo’s main upgrade was its new, larger-diameter engine. Boeing’s response was to update their 737 family with larger engines of their own, thus resulting in the MAX. However, the 737 family is much older than the Airbus A320s and doesn’t have enough ground clearance to accommodate the new, more efficient engines.
Boeing addressed this issue by mounting these larger engines on the front of the airplane. In hindsight, the better solution would have been to develop a completely new aircraft design, as the Boeing 737 was based on a 1960s design. In an effort to save money, Boeing kept pushing the Boeing 737 design to its limits, and here we are. The Boeing 737 MAX is an airplane that, in my opinion, should never have been built.
Resolving the Complexity: The Faulty MCAS System
To address the challenges of adding a larger, heavier engine to a 1960s design, Boeing equipped the Boeing 737 MAX with an AI flight stabilization system called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System). This system was intended to assist pilots by automatically adjusting the pitch characteristics of the aircraft. However, this system proved to be deadly. The MCAS program wasn’t adequately tested, and when deployed, it caused the Boeing 737 MAX to nosedive in some instances, making it difficult for pilots to override the automated commands.
How to Avoid Flying on a Boeing 737 MAX
Look at Airline Fleet Information on Wikipedia:
Wikipedia has information on every airline’s current and future aircraft fleets. If you want to avoid flying on a Boeing 737 MAX, search for a specific airline and navigate to the “fleet” section. Here, you will see a list of all the aircraft types that a particular airline operates.
Filter Out 737 MAX When Booking:
Many booking websites like Kayak now offer the option to filter search results not only by destination but also by aircraft type. You can easily exclude any flight with a Boeing 737 MAX from your search.
Seat Selection Reveals Aircraft Type:
When you are selecting your seat and looking at the aircraft seat diagram, the image will often show you the type of aircraft. Keep this in mind when choosing your seat. While your preferred seating is important, prioritizing the aircraft type you’ll be flying on is even more crucial!
Should People Be Worried?
Absolutely. The aviation industry remains the safest mode of travel, and numerous laws and regulations have contributed to making aviation as incredible as it is today. However, the Boeing 737 MAX has a history of incidents that wouldn’t have occurred if Boeing had designed a completely new aircraft instead of modifying a 1960s design. Additionally, if they had prioritized safety and valued worker input with strong leadership, these incidents might have been avoided. People have a right to be concerned. Here’s an undercover clip featuring a Boeing 737 MAX engineer stating they would never fly on a Boeing 737 MAX due to quality issues. This is someone who built the plane!
There are other reports from Boeing staff who have revealed how the company has strayed from its former focus on quality and a positive work environment.
Ultimately, if there are safer alternatives available, such as the Airbus A320 series or even Boeing’s older 737 NG (Next-Gen) series, why wouldn’t you choose them? You can reach your destination with peace of mind knowing you’re flying on a well-built aircraft.
Boeing needs to improve its practices and focus on producing high-quality airplanes, especially for the short- to medium-haul flight market. In 2024, an Alaska Airlines flight experienced a mid-flight door opening due to improperly secured door screws. Thankfully, there were no fatalities, but such incidents are unacceptable.
List of Major Boeing 737 MAX Incidents Since 2018
- Lion Air Flight 610
On October 29, 2018, a Lion Air flight traveling from Jakarta, Indonesia to Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia crashed into the Java Sea. All 189 people on board perished. The cause of the crash was a malfunction of the MCAS flight control system. Boeing has been criticized for failing to adequately test the MCAS system before deploying it.
- Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
On March 10, 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya crashed approximately six minutes after takeoff. All 149 people on board died. The cause of the crash was similar to Lion Air Flight 610’s – a malfunction of the MCAS flight control system that Boeing failed to properly test.
- Alaska Airlines Flight 1282
On January 5, 2024, an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, USA to Ontario, California experienced a terrifying situation shortly after takeoff when one of its doors blew open. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the incident left passengers shaken. The cause of the incident was an improperly sealed door plug, a result of a lack of quality control during manufacturing. The FAA has also been criticized for not conducting thorough enough audits of the Boeing 737 MAX to identify manufacturing defects and safety issues.
Key Takeaways
The Boeing 737 MAX is currently undergoing rigorous quality checks. Its production line is being closely scrutinized due to concerns about the release of a product that did not meet safety standards. I am confident that these issues will be resolved in the future, primarily because Boeing is a major exporter of goods, critical to the U.S. economy. Additionally, Boeing holds a duopoly position with Airbus in the commercial airplane market. However, if Boeing does not address its quality control problems and continues to produce substandard products, Airbus will likely continue to capture a larger market share. Furthermore, China’s COMAC corporation could potentially find an opening to establish itself as a viable alternative to Boeing’s airplanes. Consequently, regaining the trust of airlines and passengers is essential for Boeing’s future success.
I completely understand why you, and many others, would want to avoid flying on a Boeing 737 MAX until they find a solution to their quality control problems. Boeing needs to go back to focusing on quality and safety instead of purely profits and rising share prices.
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