Boeing's Latest 737 MAX Concern: Pilots' Physical Strength -- Update
June 19 2019 - 10:27AM
Dow Jones News
By Andy Pasztor and Andrew Tangel
LE BOURGET, France -- Efforts to get Boeing Co.'s 737 MAX
jetliners back in the air have been delayed in part by concerns
about whether the average pilot has enough physical strength to
turn a manual crank in extreme emergencies.
The concerns have made the issue the focus of engineering
analysis, simulator sessions and flight testing by the plane maker
and American air-safety officials, according to people familiar
with the details. The extent of the internal debate hasn't been
previously reported.
Turning the crank moves a horizontal panel on the tail, which
can help change the angle of the plane's nose. Under certain
conditions, including at unusually high speeds with the panel
already at a steep angle, it can take a lot of force to move the
crank in certain emergencies. Among other things, the people
familiar with the details said, regulators are concerned about
whether female aviators -- who typically tend to have less
upper-body strength than their male counterparts -- may find it
difficult to turn the crank in an emergency.
The analysis has been further complicated because the same
emergency procedure applies to the generation of the jetliner that
preceded the MAX, known as the 737 NG. About 6,300 of these planes
are used by more than 150 airlines globally and they are the
backbone of short- and medium-range fleets for many carriers.
Neither Boeing nor regulators anticipate design or equipment
changes to result from the review, these people said. But the issue
has forced a reassessment of some safety assumptions for all 737
models, as previously reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The global MAX fleet of about 400 planes was grounded in March,
following two fatal nose-dives triggered by the misfiring of an
automated flight-control system called MCAS. The two crashes killed
a total of 346 people.
There are no plans to restrict certain pilots from getting
behind the controls of any 737 models based on their strength,
according to people with knowledge of the deliberations. But both
Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration leaders are concerned
that if such discussions become public they could be overblown or
sensationalized, according to industry and government officials
familiar with the process.
All of the 737 MAX's underlying safety questions have to be
resolved before the FAA can put the grounded fleet back in the air,
according to U.S. and European aviation officials.
In response to questions, a Boeing spokesman said: "we will
provide the FAA and the global regulators whatever information they
need." In the past, Boeing has said it is providing additional
information about "how pilots interact with the airplane controls
and displays in different flight scenarios."
Speaking before the Paris Air Show here this week, Boeing Chief
Executive Dennis Muilenburg said he wanted to conduct an
"end-to-end, comprehensive review of our design and certification
processes," as well as other matters.
An FAA spokesman declined to comment on specifics. In the past,
acting FAA chief Daniel Elwell said the agency is pursuing a
complete investigation of the two MAX crashes and looking at
everything, including emergency procedures, training and
maintenance.
FAA experts also are seeking to assess how issues regarding
pilot strength were dealt with during certification approvals of
older versions of the 737, according to the people familiar with
the specifics.
Simulator sessions and flight tests have measured the strength
required to turn the crank in various flight conditions for pilots
of both genders, according to two of the people briefed on the
details.
At this point, according to the people familiar with the
specifics, government and industry experts are considering
potential operational, training and pilot manual changes to resolve
safety concerns. The results are expected to be part of a package
of revised software and training mandates that the FAA is expected
to issue later this summer.
The pending software fix is intended to make it easier for
pilots to override MCAS, which moves a horizontal panel on the tail
-- called a horizontal stabilizer -- to point the nose down.
The emergency procedure under scrutiny is the final step in a
checklist to counteract dangerous horizontal stabilizer movements
that can be prompted by a range of causes including an MCAS
malfunction.
The FAA's testing comes after the agency prodded Boeing to draft
a new safety assessment covering MCAS as well as the emergency
procedure, according to U.S. and European aviation officials.
The FAA isn't alone in documenting the differences in average
strength between men and women in critical safety roles. The
Pentagon, for example, categorizes such information in assessing
the fitness of some uniformed personnel for certain
assignments.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com and Andrew Tangel
at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 19, 2019 10:12 ET (14:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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