Tag: Characteristics

NASA and Boeing unveiled the new X-66A livery at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. (Image: Boeing)

U.S. Airlines to Support NASA-Boeing Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Project

July 27, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

OSHKOSH, Wis., July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ – Boeing [NYSE: BA] and NASA will collaborate with U.S. airlines to advise the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project and development of the X-66A research aircraft. As part of a new sustainability coalition, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines will provide input on operational efficiencies, maintenance, handling characteristics and airport compatibility.

NASA and Boeing also unveiled the new X-66A livery today at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

The X-66A will test the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) airframe configuration and will be built from a modified MD-90 aircraft at a Boeing facility in Palmdale, Calif. It is NASA’s first X-plane focused on helping achieve its goal of net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions.

When combined with expected advancements in propulsion systems, materials and systems architecture, a single-aisle airplane with a TTBW configuration could reduce fuel consumption and emissions up to 30% relative to today’s domestic fleet of airplanes.

The U.S. airlines will offer feedback throughout the project, including:

Design: Airline participants will share feedback on sustainable operations and airport compatibility. While the X-66A will have a wingspan of 145 feet, the TTBW design could be used by airplanes of different sizes and missions and may benefit from folding wing tips to accommodate existing airport infrastructure.
Simulation and lab testing: Airline pilots will have a chance to experience the X-66A through a flight simulator and assess the vehicle’s handling characteristics.
Flight testing: Airline operations and maintenance teams will assess the X-66A as modifications are made to the airplane. Flight testing is slated for 2028 and 2029 out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

U.S. Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to Audit FAA Pilot Training Requirements

February 10, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said on Monday it will audit Federal Aviation Administration pilot training requirements for U.S. and foreign air carriers after two deadly crashes of Boeing’s <BA> 737 MAX.

The audit will also review international civil aviation authorities’ requirements for carriers’ pilot training regarding the use of flight deck automation.

Pilots have been harshly critical of Boeing’s decision not to disclose details of a new automation system – known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS – that has been linked to both fatal crashes.

The Inspector General cited a report by Indonesia’s Lion Air that “responses to erroneous activations of MCAS contributed to the crash, raising international concerns about the role of pilot training.”

The report said Boeing’s safety assessment assumed pilots would respond within three seconds of a system malfunction. But on the fatal flight and one that experienced the same problem the previous evening, it took both crews about eight seconds to respond.

Boeing declined to comment on the new review.

The FAA said it would cooperate with the inspector general’s review. “Raising and harmonizing pilot training standards across the globe are among the FAA’s top aviation safety priorities,” the FAA said. “We continue to pursue expanded conversations among the world’s aviation regulators to identify ways to enhance international aviation safety through robust pilot training programs.”

Boeing has proposed new simulator training for pilots on a series of scenarios before they are allowed to resume 737 MAX flights.

The MAX is not expected to be freed to fly until late April at the earliest. In March, the department’s IG said it would audit the FAA’s certification of the Boeing 737 MAX.

The Trump administration on Monday proposed an additional $30 million in it 2021 budget “to improve aviation oversight, following recommendations from the Boeing 737 MAX investigations.”

The funding would support 13 new full-time positions for the creation of an office mandated by Congress to oversee the FAA’s delegation of some certification tasks to Boeing and other plane-makers. The FAA would also use some of the funds for data collection and for “technological advances that we use to assess safety data,” Deputy FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler)

FILE PHOTO: Aerial photos show Boeing 737 Max airplanes on the tarmac in Seattle

Boeing Statement On Lion Air Flight 610 Final Report

October 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) issued the following statement regarding the release today of the final investigation report of Lion Air Flight 610 by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT):

“On behalf of everyone at Boeing, I want to convey our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in these accidents. We mourn with Lion Air, and we would like to express our deepest sympathies to the Lion Air family,” said Boeing President & CEO Dennis Muilenburg. “These tragic events have deeply affected us all and we will always remember what happened.”

“We commend Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee for its extensive efforts to determine the facts of this accident, the contributing factors to its cause and recommendations aimed toward our common goal that this never happens again.”

“We are addressing the KNKT’s safety recommendations, and taking actions to enhance the safety of the 737 MAX to prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again. Safety is an enduring value for everyone at Boeing and the safety of the flying public, our customers, and the crews aboard our airplanes is always our top priority. We value our long-standing partnership with Lion Air and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future.”

Boeing experts, working as technical advisors to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, have supported the KNKT over the course of the investigation. The company’s engineers have been working with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other global regulators to make software updates and other changes, taking into account the information from the KNKT’s investigation.

Since this accident, the 737 MAX and its software are undergoing an unprecedented level of global regulatory oversight, testing and analysis. This includes hundreds of simulator sessions and test flights, regulatory analysis of thousands of documents, reviews by regulators and independent experts and extensive certification requirements.

Over the past several months Boeing has been making changes to the 737 MAX. Most significantly, Boeing has redesigned the way Angle of Attack (AoA) sensors work with a feature of the flight control software known as Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Going forward, MCAS will compare information from both AoA sensors before activating, adding a new layer of protection.

In addition, MCAS will now only turn on if both AoA sensors agree, will only activate once in response to erroneous AOA, and will always be subject to a maximum limit that can be overridden with the control column.

These software changes will prevent the flight control conditions that occurred in this accident from ever happening again.

In addition, Boeing is updating crew manuals and pilot training, designed to ensure every pilot has all of the information they need to fly the 737 MAX safely.

Boeing continues to work with the FAA and other regulatory agencies worldwide on the certification of the software update and training program to safely return the 737 MAX to service.

U.S. Airlines to Support NASA-Boeing Sustainable Flight Demonstrator Project

U.S. Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to Audit FAA Pilot Training Requirements

Boeing Statement On Lion Air Flight 610 Final Report

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