Saturday, February 29, 2020

[psaanagv] Joyriding a 737 MAX

It would have been interesting if, in August 2018, Richard Russell stole a Boeing 737 MAX from Seatac instead of a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, then, during his subsequent aerobatics adventure, discovered the software problem that later caused crashes of 737 MAX planes in October 2018 and March 2019, killing 346 people total.

Narrative in an alternative universe: "Guy steals plane.  Now the entire fleet of that model is grounded because of a dangerous problem discovered during his joyride.  Good thing he stole the plane.  Good thing airport security was lax enough for him to steal the plane, or otherwise we probably would have never found out about its problems until it was too late.  One wonders how many lives he inadvertantly saved."  Perhaps the alternate narrative could also include a Boeing insider, aware of the plane's problems but frustrated with Boeing covering them up, tipping off Russell about what aerobatics to try.

Update: "Core lock" problem discovered in 2004 on Pinnacle Airlines flight 3701 due to unprofessional behavior on a repositioning flight.

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