Purtroppo ho l'impressione che anche l'evolversi di questa situazione non sia che l'ennesima manifestazione di populismo che pervade i nostri tempi.
La sequenza degli eventi sembra essere stata:
-incidente ET
-i media suggeriscono (senza nessun elemento tecnico in mano) un collegamento con quello indonesiano. Deduzione da cui conseguirebbe la presunta pericolosità del MAX.
-l'uomo medio si informa sui media e quindi fa suoi i sospetti, ritenendo quindi l'aereo quantomeno di dubbia sicurezza.
-alcune Authority, sia per condiscendere il pensiero dominante, sia per convenienza politica (mi dimostro inflessibile sulla sicurezza e mi paro il cuxo in caso di eventuali problemi dell'aereo), bannano il MAX.
-parte la gara tra vari stati nel dimostrare la "sensibilità" di cui sopra.
-a livello europeo, l'EASA (che diversamente dalle Authority nazionali non ha un'opinione pubblica alla quale deve rendere conto), si trova praticamente "costretta" a seguire le scelte dei principali paesi della UE e si accoda al gregge.
Tutto questo quando il costruttore ha diffuso questa nota:
Boeing Statement on 737 MAX Software Enhancement
March 11, 2019 - The Boeing Company is deeply saddened by the loss of Lion Air Flight 610, which has weighed heavily on the entire Boeing team, and we extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families and loved ones of those onboard.
Safety is a core value for everyone at Boeing and the safety of our airplanes, our customers’ passengers and their crews is always our top priority. The 737 MAX is a safe airplane that was designed, built and supported by our skilled employees who approach their work with the utmost integrity.
For the past several months and in the aftermath of Lion Air Flight 610, Boeing has been developing a flight control software enhancement for the 737 MAX, designed to make an already safe aircraft even safer. This includes updates to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) flight control law, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training. The enhanced flight control law incorporates angle of attack (AOA) inputs, limits stabilizer trim commands in response to an erroneous angle of attack reading, and provides a limit to the stabilizer command in order to retain elevator authority.
Boeing has been working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on development, planning and certification of the software enhancement, and it will be deployed across the 737 MAX fleet in the coming weeks. The update also incorporates feedback received from our customers.
The FAA says it anticipates mandating this software enhancement with an Airworthiness Directive (AD) no later than April. We have worked with the FAA in development of this software enhancement.
It is important to note that the FAA is not mandating any further action at this time, and the required actions in AD2018-23.51 continue to be appropriate.
A pitch augmentation control law (MCAS) was implemented on the 737 MAX to improve aircraft handling characteristics and decrease pitch-up tendency at elevated angles of attack. It was put through flight testing as part of the certification process prior to the airplane entering service. MCAS does not control the airplane in normal flight; it improves the behavior of the airplane in a non-normal part of the operating envelope.
Boeing’s 737 MAX Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM) already outlines an existing procedure to safely handle the unlikely event of erroneous data coming from an angle of attack (AOA) sensor. The pilot will always be able to override the flight control law using electric trim or manual trim. In addition, it can be controlled through the use of the existing runaway stabilizer procedure as reinforced in the Operations Manual Bulletin (OMB) issued on Nov. 6, 2018.
Additionally, we would like to express our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. A Boeing technical team is at the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. It is still early in the investigation, as we seek to understand the cause of the accident.
e oggi ha aggiunto quest'altra nota:
Boeing Statement on 737 MAX Operation
March 12, 2019 - Safety is Boeing’s number one priority and we have full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX. We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. We’ll continue to engage with them to ensure they have the information needed to have confidence in operating their fleets. The United States Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators.
Visto che le cause del disastro in Etiopia non sono note e che il costruttore dichiara quanto sopra, ho l'impressione che per la prima volta la politica abbia totalmente ignorato la situazione oggettiva sotto l'aspetto tecnico attuando provvedimenti di pura convenienza.
Il confronto con il vulcano irlandese secondo me non è corretto, perchè in quel caso ci fu probabilmente un eccesso di cautela, ma il pericolo era certo, definito e reale.
In questo caso sono stati presi provvedimenti senza aver nessuna pezza d'appoggio scientifica a supportarli.
Mi sembra un precedente pericoloso.