Hacker News Reader

Comment by hrunt | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand. Is Boeing using a different anti-ice system on the engines for the MAX 7 compared to the other MAX variants? They use the same engines, no? Why would the MAX 7 need a safety exemption for a system that should be identical across the 4 variants?

View on HN

The AD applies to all 737s using that same engine: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/10/2023-17...

However, the MAX 8 and MAX 9 had already been certified and delivered before this AD was published, while the MAX 7 had delays in certification.

The MAX 8 and 9 have the same issue[0], and have a temporary exemption with guidance to the pilots on when not to use the deicing. I think the idea is that this is an issue that can be managed, and the cost of grounding hundreds of planes for such an issue is substantially higher than the cost of delaying deliveries for a plane with no existing fleet. That different cost also leads to a different tradeoff for the two cases.

[0] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/10/2023-17...

I hear what you're saying, but "because we have so many of these planes out there" isn't a rationale that gives me a lot of confidence for justifying a waiver. In the grand scheme of things I'd rather see them stop building shitty planes.

Here, just juggle these old sticks of dynamite weeping nitroglycerin carefully and nothing bad will happen. And if it does, it's the operator's fault.

Don't fret, the American government is doing all it can to ensure Boeing's investors' MONEY is worth more than a few hundred people who are already dead. Boeing pinky promises it will never, ever happen again. And if it does, it's pilot error.

But that gets in the way of making the little line on the graph go up every quarter which means top execs don't get as big of bonuses so shitty planes it is!

Certified variants are currently flying under an Airworthiness Directive. The requested exemption would have allowed the MAX 7 and MAX 10 to be certified despite the EIA flaw, with Boeing having until 2026 to design and certify a permanent fix (not sure about the deadline for actual implementation of said fix).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com