If this combination works the vision of paying passengers on a hypersonic flight might become a reality within 15 years.

Families of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims are urging U.S. lawmakers to ensure the planemaker is held accountable for accidents that together killed 346 people by blocking a key legal defense, according to a letter sent on Tuesday and seen by Reuters.

Chicago-based Boeing Co ... has argued that because the aircraft was certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, it is immune from liability...

... The new issue came on the heels of Monday's announcement that the company had identified two issues with the manufacture of the join in a portion of the fuselage in some 787s that "in combination, result in a condition that does not meet our design standards." [And that can lead to catastrophic failure of the join holding the entire tail section in place.]

In the statement Tuesday the company said there also was an issue with the horizontal stabilizer.

Boeing on Monday said it contacted airlines that operate eight 787s that needed to be removed and repaired [immediately]...

According to an internal Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) memo seen by the Wall Street Journal, the regulator could be looking at quality control errors that may have potentially lasted for 10 years...

Boeing Co. is submitting to an independent review of its compliance and ethics practices, according to an agreement struck with NASA and the U.S. Air Force and seen by Reuters...

The agreement, signed in August, comes as federal prosecutors continue a criminal investigation into whether NASA's former human exploration chief, Doug Loverro, improperly guided Boeing space executive Jim Chilton during the contract bidding process...

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - An 18-month investigation by a U.S. House panel blasted Boeing Co and the Federal Aviation Administration over the 737 MAX which has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Democratic majority found numerous missteps in a nearly 250-page final report released Wednesday into the troubled plane’s development.

“Boeing failed in its design and development of the MAX, and the FAA failed in its oversight of Boeing and its certification of the aircraft,” the report says, detailing a litany of problems in the plane’s design and the government’s approval of the plane.

The review found the crashes “were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake, or mismanaged event.”

“They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA — the pernicious result of regulatory capture on the part of the FAA.”

Boeing said in a statement it “learned many hard lessons as a company from the accidents... and from the mistakes we have made. As this report recognizes, we have made fundamental changes to our company as a result, and continue to look for ways to improve.”

The chief project engineer for Boeing’s 737 Max jet told House investigators that he approved a critical design change to software on the plane even though he was unaware of key details about how it worked or of a previous warning from a test pilot that if the system malfunctioned, the results could be “catastrophic.”
A new comprehensive report released Wednesday by the House Transportation Committee also says that the crashes of two new 737 Max aircraft in less than five months “were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA.”

“This is a tragedy that never should have happened,”

... Boeing says new problem to delay deliveries of 787 Dreamliner
wrote:

... The new issue came on the heels of Monday's announcement that the company had identified two issues with the manufacture of the join in a portion of the fuselage in some 787s that "in combination, result in a condition that does not meet our design standards." [And that can lead to catastrophic failure of the join holding the entire tail section in place.]

In the statement Tuesday the company said there also was an issue with the horizontal stabilizer.

Boeing on Monday said it contacted airlines that operate eight 787s that needed to be removed and repaired [immediately]...

According to an internal Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) memo seen by the Wall Street Journal, the regulator could be looking at quality control errors that may have potentially lasted for 10 years...

...

... South Carolina offers cheaper labor, and the largest 787-10 variant cannot easily be built elsewhere due to its size.

But doubling down on the Southern state is not without cost.

Boeing must weigh the chances that concentrating 787 output in the South would make it easier for unions to organize there...

SPEEA’s Goforth: “I cannot believe Boeing chose this moment to fire their highly experienced training pilots and outsource their work to contractors they don’t even control.”

... The Boeing Company delivered layoff notices to its remaining seven Flight Training Airplane (FTA) pilots and will instead send the critical work of providing on-site training to airline customers to an overseas contract house. The 60-day notices of layoff eliminate all direct Boeing FTA pilots by the end of November – a critical moment in Boeing’s plan to return the 737MAX to service...

... Instead of using its own highly experienced pilots, Boeing is expanding its use of contract pilots from Cambridge Communications Limited (CCL), a contract house incorporated in the Isle of Mann. According to union officials, CCL’s ownership structure is a company within a nest of shell companies...

... “I was gobsmacked to hear company officials admit that Boeing will exercise zero quality control over these contractor pilots despite costuming them in Boeing uniforms,”...

... Regardless of the extensive workload ahead to prepare 737MAX pilots, Boeing told union officials there is no work for the seven FTA pilots – all of whom are protected military veterans with a combined total of more than 225 years of experience flying a wide range of commercial and military aircraft. Unlike most pilots who are type rated to fly a single aircraft model, the Boeing FTA pilots are all rated to fly multiple different aircraft models and qualified to instruct other pilots how to fly those aircraft models. The union noted FTA pilots have regular interaction with Boeing’s other pilot groups, including its Flight Test Pilots, Technical Pilots and Safety Pilots...

... “The loss of this critical coordinating function between the Boeing employees who design and manufacture aircraft and the customer air crews who fly them is incalculable,”...

A union representing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airplane safety engineers who work on certifying new aircraft called Monday for substantial upgrades to the flight crew alerting systems and other changes on Boeing’s 737 MAX before the plane is allowed to return to the air...

... The MAX was duly granted exceptions to five of the regulatory stipulations so that it could retain the legacy 737 instrument panel and crew alert system. The FAA technical staff union argued Monday that those exceptions should be rescinded and the crew alerting system on the re-certified MAX updated accordingly...

... submitted a detailed response with a series of recommendations for additional changes to the MAX, including rescinding the crew alerting exceptions. The NATCA comments follow closely the critique of Boeing whistleblower Curtis Ewbank...

... “Based on a history of four fatal accidents in the last 24 years, the alerting design should be upgraded,” NATCA states.

NATCA also reiterates another recommendation previously raised by Ewbank, which is that the warning light on a MAX instrument panel indicating that the jet’s autothrottle is disconnected is too similar to a different warning related to airspeed and has no aural backup warning. This design isn’t permitted under the latest safety regulations.

Separately, NATCA recommends revising the instructions to pilots of how to handle the emergency if the horizontal tail swivels uncommanded...

... NATCA’s comments, representing the FAA’s own safety engineers, add weight to the warnings sounded by Ewbank, first internally and then publicly...

... the 737 operates in some scenarios at reduced safety margins compared to modern aircraft,” he added.

Is this where QA has again 'gotten in the way' of deadly profits?

A US aviation chief is to conduct a test flight with a Boeing 737 Max next week as the American plane maker works to win approval to resume flights.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) boss Steve Dickson is set to fly the plane in a key milestone for the company.

The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Mr Dickson, who was previously a commercial airline pilot, plans to undergo simulator training before the flight and will then share his observations with FAA technical staff.

It is not typical for an FAA administrator to fly an airplane before it returns to service. Mr Dickson has repeatedly said he would not sign off until he flew it himself and was “satisfied that I would put my own family on it without a second thought”.

The FAA told US lawmakers in an email on Friday that Mr Dickson and FAA deputy administrator Dan Elwell “will be in Seattle next week to take the recommended training”. The flight by Mr Dickson will fulfil “his promise to fly the aircraft before the FAA approves its return to service”.

... Boeing says new problem to delay deliveries of 787 Dreamliner
wrote:

... The new issue came on the heels of Monday's announcement that the company had identified two issues with the manufacture ... [And that can lead to catastrophic failure of the join holding the entire tail section in place.]

... According to an internal Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) memo seen by the Wall Street Journal, the regulator could be looking at quality control errors that may have potentially lasted for 10 years...

...

And Boeing makes a 787 move:

Boeing gearing up for 787 move to South Carolina...
wrote:

... South Carolina offers cheaper labor...

Boeing announced plans to shift its remaining 787 Dreamliner production from Washington State to South Carolina...

... Boeing said it will make the mid-2021 move to “preserve liquidity” and “enhance efficiency and improve performance for the long-term,” in a statement.

Employee representatives say it’s all about cutting union jobs...

... “Boeing can’t stand the idea that those who design and build the aircraft, who are the heart and soul of the manufacturing process, have rights,”...

Boeing Grounds x8 787'S With Three Airlines - Defective Carbon Fiber At Pressure Dome

FAA Warns x900 787's May Be Damaged And Need To Be Fixed!

Boeing Announces 4Th 787 Defect In A Row

Where was it that Boeing reduced their QA staff?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday issued a draft report on revised training procedures for the Boeing BA.N 737 MAX, a key milestone to the plane's eventual ungrounding.

The FAA said the draft Flight Standardization Board report would be open for public comment through Nov. 2. It adds new training requirements to deal with a key safety system tied to two fatal crashes that killed 346 people and led to the plane’s grounding in March 2019.

Boeing Caves To The EASA - Will Install System

U.S. House report blasts failures of Boeing, FAA in 737 MAX certification

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - An 18-month investigation by a U.S. House panel blasted Boeing Co and the Federal Aviation Administration over the 737 MAX which has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Democratic majority found numerous missteps in a nearly 250-page final report released Wednesday into the troubled plane’s development.

“Boeing failed...”

“They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA — the pernicious result of regulatory capture on the part of the FAA.”...

But will the appropriate heads roll off the chopping block?

EASA Will Let U.S.FAA Lead The Way