Hacker News Reader

Comment by Yizahi | Hacker News Reader

If I understand correctly "fixing" MCAS would be quick but audit found out more problems and Boeing started basically a refactoring of their computer architecture (including hardware changes) which itself takes a lot of time and didn't pass new audit yet.

View on HN

Yes, that's the official explanation. But these problems (such as gamma rays scrambling the flight computer, causing the plane to aggressively dive) are ostensibly not new, or related to MCAS. The issue is not just that gamma rays theoretically – and MCAS, in real-life and quite tragically – cause the plane to dive, but that Boeing overestimated pilots' ability to react to the underlying systems error. I think it seems suspicious Boeing only now decides "Oh, looks like we should also modernize the 737 computers", while asserting that MCAS itself was still a great idea.

Didn't I read from another hacker news poster that the software engineering and design was outsourced? Anyone know?

In the article they mention that they outsourced at least some of it.

“ As Boeing and the subcontractor that supplied the flight-control computer, the United Technologies Corp. division Collins Aerospace Systems, worked through these changes, it has at times created tension.”

It is extremely common that various parts of design and manufacture of aircraft are "outsourced". The airframe manufacturer is essentially never the manufacturer for whole subsystems and there is a large subcontracting network.

This is an entirely normal and long-standing practice.

Didn't say it wasn't, I was just answering GP's question :).

Outsourcing is a symptom of the real issue. I don't think outsourcing necessarily causes these problems. Subjugating engineering to a lower class and elevating politics/accounting doesn't really generate great engineered products, go figure.

As an engineer in the defense/aero industry, this is so true. Legal, HR, and IT run everything, with the engineering staff shat upon.

Probably multiple levels of outsourcing. Boeing > Collins > Indian for $9/hr.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/boeing-outsourced-coding...

They didn't work on the Flight computer supposedly. Just the Flight displays.

There was a Bloomberg article with more detail.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-28/boeing-s-...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com