Will the 737MAX be our de Havilland Comet?

[GoldCanyon340]

A serious question and not trolling. I'm just a student of history.

 

[albatross710]

That's a good question which I had to research : de Havilland Comet - Wikipedia

The world has changed significantly.
There are many more 737Max sitting around than there were Comets.
Comets were killing less people per crash ~30 v ~200.
Today's regulators are going to be very cautious of the Max


I think it will be a financial decision.

The cost of getting the current airframes modified, approved again and flying

v

Cost of starting again

All up, bad news for Boeing shareholders

 

[samh004]

I think it will be a financial decision.

The cost of getting the current airframes modified, approved again and flying

v

Cost of starting again

ISTR some carriers suggesting they would let customers change flights in the future if they were on a 737MAX aircraft, and if it affected enough peoples general psyche to be requesting such swaps, airlines might not be interested in the product being sold to them by Boeing.

From what little I understand, they could remove the software command that tells it to pitch down, but the aircraft is now a little prone to stalling thanks to modifications to an ancient design, so they'd need to come up with a warning to the pilots and suitable training. Easy enough to do, but stigma is hard to get rid of.

You'd hope that parallel development of the successor had already begun secretly so they could announce they were ending production of the 737MAX, negotiate discounts to 737NG frames for existing customers and have a head start on the road to a new, far better model.

 

[jb747]

The Comet was a leap into the future. It was the first attempt at what we would call a modern airliner. But sadly, the engineers were designing based upon had come before, and that had never included squared windows and pressurised structures. The entire world learnt about structures from that.

The Max is simply an example of an otherwise good company doing something on the cheap. Nothing has been learnt. A proper analysis of the system before it even flew would have shown how flawed it was.

The really sad part is that the various CEOs, who are all the Harvard School of Management brigade, will learn nothing from this.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

The Max is simply an example of an otherwise good company doing something on the cheap.

It is also a lesson about mergers and acquisitions.
If you have an opportunity to take over a struggling competitor , make sure you don't inherit the very things which caused it to struggle.

 

[wandering_fred]

I wonder if the outcome will be to revert to the 737NG engine with pylons modified as required....

Just wandering
Fred

 

[jb747]

NG cannot use the LEAP engines. So, unless Boeing are prepared to sell them at about 50% of their current price, they‘d be dead in the marketplace.

 

[flyer89]

The Comet was a leap into the future. It was the first attempt at what we would call a modern airliner. But sadly, the engineers were designing based upon had come before, and that had never included squared windows and pressurised structures. The entire world learnt about structures from that.

Slightly off topic but I’m yet to come across a really good documentary about the Comet. I think a Netflix or Amazon could do something that would be good. I like the line on its Wikipedia page: Both an adventurous step forward and a supreme tragedy.