The Unfriendly Skies

The New York Post carries an article about the pressures on the airline industry to reduce carbon emissions. Along the way we may be learning why the Boeing 737 MAX is unstable and dangerous.

The 737 MAX was trumpeted as “Boeing’s game changer.” It reduced emissions by 14 percent and Boeing raced it into production to compete with a climate-friendly new offering from Airbus.

But in order to achieve its green goal, Boeing had to use much bigger engines that didn’t fit in the usual position under the wing of the repurposed, 53-year-old 737 design. The engines had to be moved forward and hoisted higher.

As a result, the aerodynamics changed, and the planes had a tendency to pitch up and potentially stall on takeoff. Boeing’s solution to this hardware defect was an imperfect software bandage that would automatically correct the pitch. In both crashes, preliminary investigations found this software kicked in even when the plane wasn’t stalling, with lethal consequences.

Boeing competitor Airbus had come out with a less-polluting plane - the A320 neo - and Boeing was scrambling to catch up. If design is the issue, the whole fleet may have to be scrapped and Boeing likely files for Ch. 11. If you hold Boeing stock, consider moving your $$ elsewhere before that happens.