Boeing's 737 Max Planes Grounded Again

Four US airlines announced two Fridays ago they are grounding more than 60 of their 737 Max jets after Boeing disclosed a potential electrical glitch affecting the planes. 

The production-related electrical grounding problem in a backup power control unit situated in the cockpit stems from a manufacturing problem, according to the company and the Federal Aviation Administration. Boeing have since then clarified the new problem isn’t connected to issues implicated in two deadly crashes involving the Max in recent years. 

Southwest Airlines said they were pulling 30 of their 58 Max planes from service, while American Airlines said they would ground 17 of their 41 planes. United Airlines are pulling 16 of their 30 Max planes, and Alaska Airlines will ground all four in their fleet. 

It wasn’t clear how many jets worldwide were affected – but 16 Boeing customers had been reportedly identified. 

So far, suspected grounding problems have been found in two other places on the flight deck, industry sources said last Friday. These include the storage rack where the affected control unit is kept and the instrument panel facing the pilots.

Boeing are expected to draw up bulletins advising airlines how to fix the problems with grounding, or the electrical paths designed to maintain safety in the event of a surge of voltage. US regulators need to first approve the bulletins though. 

While most analysts say the fix is expected to be relatively straightforward, no details were immediately available on the timing of the repair bulletins needed to start the work on the planes affected by the suspension.

This new issue surfaced as most airlines have returned the Max to the skies after a pair of deadly crashes killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, leading to the jets being grounded worldwide for almost two years. 

In any case, the newly discovered defect threatens to undermine airlines’ and Boeing’s efforts to restore passenger confidence in the aircraft. That challenge comes as the plane maker is also working to resolve quality issues that have dogged some of their other commercial and military jets. 

I suppose we should avoid Boeing planes, just to be on the safe side! 

Rangers made it through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after beating rivals Celtic 2-0 in the Old Firm Derby yesterday. 

Indeed, the latter had plenty of chances to come back and even missed a penalty with Odsonne Edouard. 

It was just not meant to be and Celtic’s four-year Scottish Cup reign abruptly ended.