Boeing regrets ex-pilot’s 737 MAX messages, faults simulator
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/10/boeing-regrets-ex-pilots-737-max.html
Boeing Co said on Sunday it understood the outcry over leaked
messages from a former test pilot over erratic software behavior on its
737 MAX jet two years before recent crashes, and added it was still
investigating what they meant.
The world’s largest planemaker, under growing pressure to explain
what it knew about 737 MAX problems before it entered service, said it
had not been able to speak directly to former employee Mark Forkner but
echoed his lawyer’s subsequent claims that the problems were linked to a
faulty simulator.
The role of the simulator has emerged as a crucial issue since the
2016 messages surfaced on Friday, since investigators will want to know
whether erratic movements reported by the pilot meant Boeing was aware
of problems on the aircraft itself or only in the artificial cockpit.
The FAA on Friday ordered Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg to
give an “immediate” explanation for the delay in turning over the
“concerning” document, which Boeing discovered some months ago.
In the messages from November 2016, then-chief technical pilot
Forkner tells a colleague the so-called MCAS anti-stall system – the
same one linked to deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia – was
“running rampant” in a flight simulator session.
At another point he says: “I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly).”
The messages, first reported by Reuters, prompted a new call in
Congress for Boeing to shake up its management as it scrambles to
rebuild trust and lift an eight-month safety ban of its fastest-selling
plane.
“We understand entirely the scrutiny this matter is receiving, and
are committed to working with investigative authorities and the U.S.
Congress as they continue their investigations,” Boeing said in its
statement on Sunday.
Boeing said it informed the FAA about its decision to expand MCAS to
low speeds. The FAA also observed MCAS operation in the low-speed
configuration during certification flight testing, from August 2016
through January 2017, Boeing said.
The instant messages prompted harsh reactions from several Democratic
lawmakers in Washington, with Representative Peter DeFazio saying,
“This is no isolated incident.”
“The outrageous instant message chain between two Boeing employees”
suggests “Boeing withheld damning information from the FAA,” DeFazio,
who chairs the U.S. House Transportation Committee, said on Friday.
Muilenburg, who was stripped of his chairman title by the company’s
board nine days ago, is set to testify before the committee on Oct. 30.
DeFazio’s committee also obtained details of a 2016 Boeing survey
that found nearly 40% of 523 employees handling safety certification
work perceived “potential undue pressure” from managers, such as
bullying or coercion.
Other top concerns include “schedule pressure” and “high workload,”
though 90% of the employees said they were comfortable raising concerns
about “undue pressure” to management, according to a copy of the Boeing
presentation of the survey results seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The presentation was obtained by the committee’s investigators and
not among a trove of documents handed over the committee by Boeing
itself, a person briefed on the matter said.
Evidence of “undue pressure” was also pinpointed by a group of international regulators reviewing the 737 MAX certification.
A Boeing spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the survey results.
On Sunday, Boeing said it has not been able to speak to Forkner directly about his understanding of the document.
“He has stated through his attorney that his comments reflected a
reaction to a simulator program that was not functioning properly and
that was still undergoing testing,” Boeing said.
“The simulator software used during the Nov. 15 session was still
undergoing testing and qualification and had not been finalized,” Boeing
added.
Reuters reported on Friday that the simulator had a number of
software problems, citing a former Boeing test pilot who analyzed the
transcript and who had direct knowledge of the flight simulator at the
time.
Such calibration problems may have contributed in some way to
Forkner’s observations and conclusions about MCAS’ behavior, the former
pilot, and a second former Boeing engineering employee, Rick Ludtke,
said.