Searching for some actual real world numbers, there is this example:


Airbus vs Boeing Accidents in the Past 20 Years (2003-2023)

Which lists a death tally of 2,705 fatalities for Airbus (72 incidents) and 3,406 for Boeing (109 incidents).

That's an Airbus death rate of 38 deaths per incident for Airbus and 31 deaths per incident for Boeing.

That article also lists figures for incidents per million flights of 0.20 for Airbus and 0.31 for Boeing.


So, for that time frame, slightly more people died per Airbus incident, however, there were 50% more incidents per number of flights, for Boeing to kill overall more people.


How have those numbers changed over the last year?

Edit: A repeated story across multiple articles is that the two 737MAX crashes are two 'black swan' events that have badly dented all of the figures for Boeing... Ongoing?...


Fly safe??
Martin

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Which lists a death tally of 2,705 fatalities for Airbus (72 incidents) and 3,406 for Boeing (109 incidents).

That's an Airbus death rate of 38 deaths per incident for Airbus and 31 deaths per incident for Boeing.

I think you have to remove those incidents and accidents first, where the root cause obviously was pilot negligence (e.g. Pakistan Airlines A320, May 22, 2020: gear-up touchdown, then go-around), or suicide (e.g. Germanwings A320, May 24, 2015: intentional flight into terrain), independent of manufacturer; even independent of outdated cockpit design. MH-17, the deadliest Boeing accident, was shot down.

You could also do other statistics to find that large flag carriers seem to have better flight safety procedures in place than smaller airlines.

A delicate topic is cultural differences in some countries, e.g. is the aircraft controlled by a team of a pilot flying and a pilot monitoring or is it a hirarchy of a captain, whose seniority equals proficiency, and a co-pilot, whom the captain teaches how (he reckons that) things have do be done.

Must be another horrible story ...
https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/faa-to-expand-landing-gear-inspections-to-737s-and-757s/163700.article

Must be another horrible story ...
https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/faa-to-expand-landing-gear-inspections-to-737s-and-757s/163700.article

Note the:

... workers improperly used a grinder ... [on] ... the jet’s main landing gear outer cylinders, causing heat damage...

Really??!!

... There just has to be more to that story...

Perhaps a problem with parts that do not fit?...

And with thousands of aircraft to be inspected for a widespread maintenance malpractice?...


Fly safe??
Martin

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So many questions:
Incorrectly manufactured parts?
Incorrect installation instructions?
Incorrect specification for replacement parts?
Incorrect training?
Poor maintenance management?
Wrong materials used in maintenance of parts?

Over the years when undertaking audits of shop floor repair & maintenance workshops I've seen all of those and more. All too often the person on the tools has no idea that what they are doing can result in a dangerous situation in service as they were shown how to do the job by "Old Fred" (who has long since retired) and just continue to do what "Old Fred" showed them to do.

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Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Is this profitable for Boeing?


Boeing vs. Airbus: The Data Boeing Doesn’t Want You to See!


My own personal myopic view is that the Boeing board of directors have long ago abandoned Boeing to instead personally line their own personal Golden Handshakes.

Meanwhile, Boeing, and the lives of people, all be damned.


Personal responsibility? What's that??

Fly safe with that?
Martin

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How can this be?

A Boeing 737 is in the news again:


Delta 737 Wing Flap Falls Off, Lands In Residential Driveway


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Martin

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How can this be?

Just a matter of probability.

With the largest fleet of thousands of active 737s, a flap is more likely to fall off a 737 than any other aircraft type.

... With the largest fleet of thousands of active 737s, a flap is more likely to fall off a 737 than any other aircraft type.

That sounds completely like a Boeing excuse...


... Well, what the real world numbers show is that this is indeed a very rare rarity. For this case, it 'just' 'happens' to be another Boeing in the news.

Fly safe?
Martin

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... With the largest fleet of thousands of active 737s, a flap is more likely to fall off a 737 than any other aircraft type.

That sounds completely like a Boeing excuse...

Call flaps 10. Set flaps 10. Oh crap sir we are above flap deployment speed!

Maintenance guy, got it back together, but where do these extra bolts go?

Better safety pays better profit?


How Airbus Surpassed Boeing To Become The World’s Top Plane Maker


That gives a good recent summary and an interesting comparison.



Fly safe?
Martin

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Deadly effects...


On the two example occasions listed so far, the passengers and aircrew on those planes were 'lucky'.

Do we get another Boeing 'gamble'?...


We Were Right About The 737 MAX.... So WHEN Will It Be Fixed?!

Yet, that is all known about and already mitigated on other aircraft...!


For an encore, there is also this extra detail separately about the anti-ice system on the 737 MAX:

737 MAX 7 & 10 Certification Delayed Into 2026 Due To Engine Anti-Ice Complications

(Note that the pilot's attempted operation of the anti-ice system is very much part of the Vilnius 737 crash that happened earlier this year... There has to be a better way...)




All 'just' a question of priorities and emphasis?

Fly safe??
Martin

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Boeing exists, so it must be their fault.

Thanks for that.

Note that was on the ground and:

... The incident happened “in an area where air traffic controllers do not communicate with flight crews,” the Federal Aviation Administration said. The agency said it would investigate...

So... Is that article being used to suggest that there is a culture of fault and (preventable) danger associated with Boeing passenger aircraft?...


Fly safe folks?
Martin

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... On a related note:

From multiple Boeing "engine out" 'incidents' over the entire history of the Boeing 737 (and others), there has been a repeated deadly problem of the pilots being confused about which engine has failed. Crashes have resulted from the 'wrong' engine getting shut down. People have needlessly died.

A repeated safety recommendation is for the pilots to be able to see the engines and wings, VISUALLY.

Hence, various other passenger aircraft have permanently operating cameras on the tail and elsewhere to give the pilots an all-round view of their plane.

That is a huge improvement over a Boeing old-school old-tech blinking light!

(There has even been an airliner crash whilst the pilots were fumbling trying to change an indicator bulb!...)


So... Why not better pilot instrumentation/information for Boeing aircraft?

After all, taking the guesswork out of 'emergencies' gives the pilots a much easier time to not kill anyone...


Fly safe?
Martin

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there has been a repeated deadly problem of the pilots being confused about which engine has failed

especially in small propeller aircraft where the pilot can physically see the propellers.

There is something about how the human brain is wired in emergency situations. Once a side is identified how that gets flipped or not flipped to the other side.

Here is a curious 'happening' just now at Los Angeles:


LATAM Boeing 787 Suffers Electronics {Electrical/Systems} Problems, Returns With RAT Deployed
wrote:

... The aircraft's Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was visibly deployed...

Whatever next?

Fly safe??
Martin

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Boeing is fairly quiet in the news at the moment with:


Boeing Defense plans to replace striking workers with new hires
wrote:

... Boeing has used non-union workers to maintain production

Strike began August 4 after 3,200 IAM members rejected contract offer

Union president urges Boeing to negotiate instead of hiring...

Boeing interfered with electric plane startup Zunum, appeals court finds
wrote:

Boeing may again be on the hook for allegedly stealing trade secrets from Bothell-based electric airplane startup Zunum Aero.

Zunum, which folded in 2019, sued Boeing a year after its closure, accusing the plane manufacturer of using its position as an investor to steal the startup’s designs and dissuade other groups from investing...

WestJet Boeing 737-800 Damaged After Landing Gear Collapses During Landing In St. Maarten

My understanding is that is now the fourth case of a Boeing 737 landing strut being punched through the top of the wing, and that there is a long ago Airworthiness Directive about those parts...



Pilots Declare Mayday As British Airways Boeing 787-9 Returns To Sydney
wrote:

... the flight crew declared a mayday after detecting a fuel smell in the cockpit...

A quiet month?

Fly safe??
Martin

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WestJet Boeing 737-800 Damaged After Landing Gear Collapses During Landing In St. Maarten
My understanding is that is now the fourth case of a Boeing 737 landing strut being punched through the top of the wing, and that there is a long ago Airworthiness Directive about those parts...

Yep. Defective repair was found in some of those cases. Translate: Airlines refused to pay for a correct replacement part and had no nothings "fix" the part.

WestJet Boeing 737-800 Damaged After Landing Gear Collapses During Landing In St. Maarten
My understanding is that is now the fourth case of a Boeing 737 landing strut being punched through the top of the wing, and that there is a long ago Airworthiness Directive about those parts...

Yep. Defective repair was found in some of those cases. Translate: Airlines refused to pay for a correct replacement part and had no nothings "fix" the part.

Nope... Worse than that...

A known maintenance procedure is allowed to continue unchecked...

How many other Boeing planes are similarly 'affected'?


Fly safe??
Martin

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