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Engine-related issues due to technological glitches are emerging as the latest source of setbacks for the airline stocks, which are already reeling under the coronavirus-induced weak air-travel demand. Notably, on Feb 20, 2021, United Airlines’ UAL Flight 328 made an emergency landing at the Denver International Airport following an engine failure. On Feb 22, a Delta Air Lines DAL flight made an emergency landing at the Salt Lake International Airport after a snag in the engine was detected. American Airlines AAL became the latest U.S.- based carrier to suffer a technological breakdown. Per a Reuters report, American Airlines’ Flight 2555,...

What we had in the two downed airplanes was a textbook failure of airmanship. In broad daylight, these pilots couldn’t decipher a variant of a simple runaway trim, and they ended up flying too fast at low altitude, neglecting to throttle back and leading their passengers over an aerodynamic edge into oblivion. [Extreme length]

While the crashes remain under investigation, preliminary reports showed that a new stabilization system pushed both planes into steep nosedives from which the pilots could not recover. The issue is known in aviation vernacular as runaway stabilizer trim. In simulator tests, government pilots discovered that a microprocessor failure could push the nose of the plane toward the ground. It is not known whether the microprocessor played a role in either crash. When testing the potential failure of the microprocessor in the simulators, "it was difficult for the test pilots to recover in a matter of seconds," one of the sources...

Juan's latest update is well worth checking out. He attempts putting the unstable design theories to rest. Also Boeing Shareholder Press Briefing

SEATTLE/PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing anti-stall software on a doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet re-engaged and pushed the jet downwards after the pilots initially turned it off due to suspect data from an airflow sensor, two people familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear whether the crew chose to re-deploy the MCAS system, which was designed to push the nose of the 737 MAX down to prevent one kind of emergency but which is suspected of exacerbating a scenario linked to two crashes.

Pilots at the controls of the Boeing Co. 737 MAX that crashed in March in Ethiopia initially followed emergency procedures laid out by the plane maker but still failed to recover control of the jet, according to people briefed on the probe’s preliminary findings. After turning off a flight-control system that was automatically pushing down the plane’s nose shortly after takeoff March 10, these people said, the crew couldn’t get the aircraft to climb and ended up turning it back on and relying on other steps before the final plunge killed all 157 people on board. The sequence of events,...

As Boeing hustled in 2015 to catch up to Airbus and certify its new 737 MAX, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) managers pushed the agency’s safety engineers to delegate safety assessments to Boeing itself, and to speedily approve the resulting analysis. But the original safety analysis that Boeing delivered to the FAA for a new flight control system on the MAX — a report used to certify the plane as safe to fly — had several crucial flaws. That flight control system, called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), is now under scrutiny after two crashes of the jet in less than...

Shares of Boeing tumbled Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he is grounding all Boeing 737 Max jets, following the second major crash within five months. “Boeing is an incredible company. They are working very, very hard right now,” Trump told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

Pilots repeatedly voiced safety concerns about the Boeing 737 Max 8 to federal authorities, with one captain calling the flight manual "inadequate and almost criminally insufficient" several months before Sunday's Ethiopian Air crash that killed 157 people, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News found. The News found five complaints about the Boeing model in a federal database where pilots can voluntarily report about aviation incidents without fear of repercussions. ************ The disclosures found by The News reference problems with an autopilot system, and they all occurred during the ascent after takeoff. Many mentioned the plane suddenly nosing down. While...

Staff Sgt. Artur Shvartsberg—Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Co The Department of Defense plans on putting its surplus fleet of AH-1W Super Cobras up for sale on the international arms market. The news comes as the USMC continues to outfit its light attack helicopter squadrons with new-build AH-1Z "Viper" derivatives of the Bell design, which traces its roots directly to the iconic UH-1 Iroquois/Huey. A recent business opportunity posting over at Fedbizops.gov describes the need for flight and maintenance training, sustainment, and refitting "Whisky Cobras" with new commercially available off-the-shelf avionics upgrades in preparation for foreign transfers of the type...

I get a lot of e-mail from parents and teachers who wonder if President Obama, whose children go to the private Sidwell Friends School, knows what is actually going on with all of the standardized testing in public schools. Here’s an open letter to Obama explaining what he is missing, written by Rebecca Steinitz, a literacy consultant in urban high schools, a writer and an editor. She was previously director of the High School Program at Lesley University’s School of Education and an English professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, where she ran the Freshman Writing Program. Steinitz is also a...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (July 13, 2006) -- Marine Aerial Refueler and Transport Squadron 252, the squadron that performed the first in-flight helicopter refueling more than 30 years ago, continues to play integral roles in air combat innovation and military operations throughout the world. As Lt. Col. David A. Krebs took the reigns of VMGR-252, June 30, he spoke enthusiastically about the opportunity to assume command of a squadron that is flexible enough to be deployed and stretched thin. Saturday, VMGR-252 participated in the first transatlantic MV-22 Osprey flight. Meanwhile, approximately 25 percent of the squadron is...

Marine fatally shot at Miramar barracks SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES 10:37 a.m. January 19, 2006 MIRAMAR – A Marine was found dead of a gunshot wound Tuesday in his barracks at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.Sgt. Francisco D. Aquino, 25, of Hidalgo, N.M., was declared dead in his room at 8:32 a.m. Tuesday, according Sgt. Nathan LaForte.The Naval Criminal Investigative Service was handling the probe, LaForte said.Aquino was an auto mechanic assigned to Marine Air Control Squadron 1, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, he said.Aquino was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from February to March...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Oct. 3, 2005) -- Vice President Dick Cheney greets MCAS New River Marines during his visit to the Air Station. Many Marines in the crowd recently returned from supporting Joint Task Force Katrina. Cheney landed at New River before heading to MCB Camp Lejeune to address Marines there later today.

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, SC (Sept. 2, 2005) -- Three Native American representatives from three different tribes visited Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Aug. 25-26. Richard Allen of the Cherokee Nation, Emman Spain of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Tim Thompson of the Muscogee Creek Nation, visited the Lowcountry for a meeting with the Natural Resources Environmental Office and also took a tour of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122. Every year Native Americans who have interest in the Air Station’s land visit Fightertown to review projects and agendas, according to John Luce, the natural and cultural resources manager...

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Sept. 1, 2005) -- Approximately 120 servicemembers from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-461 deployed in support of Joint Task Force Katrina today to provide disaster relief to the residents and city of New Orleans. The “Ironhorses” are scheduled to work hand-in-hand with several other branches of the military to provide supplies and humanitarian relief, perform search and rescue missions and reestablish the infrastructure, allowing state relief agencies access to stranded citizens. “It will be a combined effort,” said Lt. Col. Frank B. Crisafulli, HMH-461 executive officer. “We’ll be coordinating with (the Department of) Homeland...

Almost 24,000 people surrounded Marine Corps Air Station Futenma here Sunday, forming a 6.8-mile human chain to demand the air base close. The event was part of a weekend of peaceful anti-base actions to mark the 33rd anniversary of Okinawa’s return to Japan after 27 years of post-World War II U.S. occupation. Also staged Sunday: three protest marches across the island with brief rallies in front several U.S. military bases and a mass afternoon rally at the Ginowan Convention Center. MCAS Futenma sits in the middle of urban Ginowan. Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 to close the...

Imagine a horror movie with the title, “Encroachment Meets Illegal Aliens.” If that title does not stir your imagination, what about a documentary called, “Military Readiness and Illegal Immigration: How lack of border enforcement is hurting combat training.” For Marine warriors training at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) at Yuma, Ariz., they do not need to imagine those things because they are living with the realities of both. To clarify, I use the term “illegal aliens” to describe non-U.S. citizens who cross our borders into our country without proper documentation and without following or adhering to our customs and immigration...

This year's MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) results have arrived and educators have much to cheer about since scores have improved, especially in failing schools. But, of course, this achievement burns in the bellies of members of teacher's unions. The MCAS and other student assessment tests given across the country are part of President Bush's plans for reforming public education through the No Child Left Behind Act. Public schools finally are held accountable for their students' performance and will have to improve how they educate as well as hire quality teachers. Massachusetts teachers are upset about this plan and one...

A conservative organization is expressing outrage over a lawsuit that seeks to force the State of Massachusetts to administer its high school equivalency examination in Spanish for students more proficient in that language than in English. The Multicultural Education, Training, and Advocacy Coalition and two lawyers' groups have filed suit, claiming the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment (MCAS) test is unfair to Spanish-speaking students. The group claims the exam given to evaluate students in academic subjects such as math and history is unfair and should be offered to them in Spanish. But K.C. McAlpin of the Washington, DC-based group Pro-English believes the...