Only weeks after halting production of the Max 737 jet, Boeing has discovered another potential hazard — critical wiring that may be too close together and could short circuit. While the airline giant scrambles to determine if its looking at another major fix in its fleet of grounded planes, former FAA Administrator Barry Valentine says this shows that the certification process is thorough.
As part of the process to get the jet back in the air after two deadly plane crashes and a worldwide grounding, the Federal Aviation Administration requested an internal audit in December, through which the newly-discovered circuiting issue was discovered, Boeing confirmed.
Paul Bergman, a Boeing spokesperson for the company's commercial planes, wrote in an email to Cheddar it is not clear yet if the issue is a routine one and that it is still being analyzed.
When asked if and how the potentially problematic issue would have been discovered had the FAA not requested such an audit, Bergman wrote "We have ongoing processes and procedures with our customers and regulators to regularly inspect and maintain our airplanes."
The Max jet has been grounded since March after two crashes killed 346 people. The crashes were found to have been caused in part due to a new software that sent the planes into nosedives. Boeing has fixed the issues in the MCAS software, though the changes have yet to be approved.
While developing a software update to correct the issue that caused the two Max jet crashes, Boeing and the FAA altered assumptions about how outcomes could change if crews took longer to respond when faced with an emergency, according to the report. That's when the new wiring issue was discovered.
Barry Valentine, a former FAA administrator who is not involved in the certification process, told Cheddar that Boeing and the FAA were running "a number of 'what if' scenarios in a simulator to determine crew response in a variety of circumstances. One of the questions that was raised was whether or not the proximity of two bundles of wires could result in a short circuit and, if so, would a crew be able to respond in time … and what could be done to make sure [a short circuit] doesn't happen."
Boeing said it would be "premature" to determine if the latest concern would require design changes to two plane models. If the company determines the short could occur in flight, they may need to separate the wires in 800 jets that have already been built and may also need to examine the 6,800 jets in the Max's predecessor model, the 737 NG.
Valentine, who noted there are about 42 miles of wire aboard any 737 plane, said "What this really points out is both the FAA and Boeing are going through an incredibly thorough process to make sure there aren't any other issues beyond the MCAS that would result in it not being in service."
As Boeing tries to upgrade the 737 Max and bring it into compliance, the company is facing turmoil both internally and externally. Boeing recently paused production of the model as an ever-growing group of unused planes sits gathering dust, it fired CEO Dennis Muilenburg last month, and the company has agreed to pay tens of billions of dollars to partner companies for loss of business.
Boeing announced Monday that it reached compensation agreements with American Airlines and Aeromexico over lost revenue. Aeromexico did not disclose the size of the payment, but American Airlines said it would share the $30 million payout with its employees. Boeing previously settled with Southwest Airlines, which has the largest of 737 Max fleets, for $125 million and Turkish Airlines in a deal worth $225 million. The crisis has already cost Boeing billions of dollars.
