Opinion: Is it safe to fly on a Boeing 737 MAX? Yes, absolutely.
Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 model.
Image: Boeing
With the Boeing 737 MAX recently being cleared by aviation safety regulators to return to revenue service after two high profile crashes, it is understandable that some flyers may be nervous about stepping on board one of the aircraft. Will it be safe to fly on board a 737 MAX? Is there anything to worry about?
Our opinion here at The Window Flyer? Yes, it will absolutely be safe to fly on board a Boeing 737 MAX in 2021 and beyond.
ADVERTISEMENT737 MAX grounding and return to service
To recap some history, the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after two accidents that killed 346 people in October 2018 and March 2019. The crashes have been linked to the plane’s automated anti-stall system – the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, also known as MCAS – and the its reliance on data from a single angle of attack (AOA) sensor without redundant data inputs. After thorough scrutiny, investigation, and redesign of the aircraft’s flight control system, the 737 MAX was cleared to fly again by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2020.
Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency also cleared the plane to return to the skies in November, and Brazilian airline GOL became the first airline in the world to return the aircraft to service on December 9, 2020. Other agencies around the world such as Transport Canada and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are still in the process of clearing the aircraft to fly in their jurisdictions. In the United States, carriers American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have announced plans to return their 737 MAX aircraft to service at the end of December 2020, February, and Q2 2021, respectively. Alaska Airlines, which has several dozen MAX’s on order as part of a fleet expansion and replacement program, will be taking delivery of its first one in early 2021 and plans on putting it into service in March.
4 Reasons the 737 MAX will be safe to fly
Everything is at stake
The nearly two-year grounding on the 737 MAX – the longest grounding in commercial aviation history – has provided a lot of time to investigate the crashes, address the issues, and get it right. The aircraft, Boeing, and the FAA have all been placed under a microscope over the last 20+ months. There is simply too much at stake for the entire aviation industry and the traveling public to have additional mishaps related to MCAS on the 737 MAX. Additional issues uncovered during the investigation have also been corrected over the course of the last two years. This level of scrutiny in both the regulators’ and the public’s eyes, and the risks of another failure, should make the 737 MAX one of the safest airplanes out there.
MCAS has been revamped
The control system that has been linked to the two crashes has been revamped. Initially, MCAS was designed to rely on data from just a single air angle of attack (AOA) sensor, despite the aircraft already having two AOA sensors on board to provide redundancy to other aspects of the flight control system. For those unfamiliar, the role of an AOA sensor is to sense the position of an aircraft’s nose relative to the horizon (i.e. if the airplane is pointing up toward the sky or down toward the ground). If an aircraft’s nose is pointed too high, it risks getting the aircraft into an aeronautical stall and subsequent loss of control. MCAS was designed to push the nose of the plane back down automatically if it got too high, helping to prevent the aircraft from entering a stall. It’s an automated safety system, similar to how your car might intervene when it detects a potentially dangerous situation by auto-braking if a collision is imminent, or nudging your steering wheel to stay in the lane if you’re about to drift into oncoming traffic.
However, as with any automated system, its behavior and actions are only as good as the data that it receives. In both crashes, the single AOA sensor that MCAS relied on reported false readings to the flight control system. In short, the faulty sensor led the aircraft to think its nose was pointed too high, when in fact that was not the case in real life. The pilots of both doomed flights fought the system’s repeated pushing down of their aircraft’s noses.
The MCAS system has now been revamped to take data readings from both AOA sensors. If the two sensors do not agree, the system will not activate. If the system should activate, it will now only activate once per erroneous AOA event, instead of repeatedly and continually, as was the case in both accidents. Pilots will also now always be able to physically counter the MCAS action by pulling back up on the yoke, whereas in the crashes, they struggled with the strength required to pull the column back up, essentially fighting with the aircraft. Furthermore, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is also going through the step of requiring a third, synthetic, AOA sensor to be installed on board the 737 MAX, creating additional redundancies.
Crews are getting mandated simulator training
As part of the criteria laid out for the aircraft’s return to service, regulators are requiring that airlines put their crews through full-motion simulator training to learn the nuances of the 737 MAX’s flying characteristics. Before the worldwide groundings, simulator training was not required as it was assumed the MAX would handle very similarly to the older 737 NG series aircraft that are so popular around the world today. As a result, pilots before the grounding were not adequately prepared to handle and respond to an MCAS event. They will be better trained for it moving forward.
Commercial aviation accidents are rare, and flying is statistically safe
To be clear, this statement is not meant to underscore failures of processes in the 737 MAX’s initial design and initial certification process and the human tragedy that resulted from it. Statistically, air travel remains one of the safest means of transportation in the world, and it is a statistic that the aviation industry takes very seriously and has tremendous pride in.
However, many airlines recognize and understand the human and emotional aspects of flying. They understand that passengers may be nervous (and rightfully so) about stepping on board a 737 MAX. As a result, many have outlined policies that empower passengers with flexible options should they find themselves uncomfortable flying on a MAX aircraft as they return to service. We recommend checking with your airline on these policies, as they may differ from airline to airline.
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The 20-month long worldwide grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX has been the longest in commercial aviation history, and through that grounding, many issues have been uncovered and corrected. There will naturally be uneasiness in the public about flying on one as the plane begins its return to service around the world over the next few months, but we feel absolutely safe about it.
Our perspective is that there is simply too much at stake for everyone (Boeing, regulators, airlines, and the flying public) to have another incident similar to the ones that ultimately grounded the aircraft back in March 2019. Simply put, regulators and airlines would not willingly let passengers fly on board an unsafe airplane, especially not after all the highly publicized worldwide scrutiny that the MAX has endured over the past couple of years. The MCAS system that has been linked to the two crashes has also been extensively redesigned and now builds in a number of redundancies and overrides to prevent a loss of control of the aircraft. Pilots will now be required to undergo full-motion simulator training to be certified to fly the MAX. Lastly, aviation still remains one of the safest modes of transportation in the world.
We hope that some of the points brought forth in this article will help give you peace of mind on your next flight should you find yourself booked on board a 737 MAX aircraft.
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