THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, November 14, 2019 |A
Visit boeing.com/737MAXupdates
Safety. Integrity. Quality. They’re the
values guiding us to make the 737 MAX
oneofthesafestairplanesevertofly.
Supporting victims’ families and
their communities.
The Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents weigh
heavily on us and we have made a commitment to
help rebuild the communities and families impacted
by these accidents. To that end, we have established
a $100 million relief fund, $50 million of which is in
an independently run fund that has already begun
providing near-term financial relief to the families of
victims. We’re working with experts, governments,
communities and families to determine how best to
distribute the remaining funds.Updating software. Adding protection.
Doing extensive testing.
We updated the Maneuvering Characteristics
Augmentation System (MCAS) on the 737 MAX by
adding three additional layers of protection to prevent
accidents like these from ever happening again. To
date, we’ve conducted over 900 test and production
flights with the updated MCAS software, totaling more
than 1,700 hours. We are making a second software
update that provides additional flight control computer
redundancy. Some 545 participants from more than 140
customers and regulators globally, including the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), have participated
in simulator sessions of the MCAS software update.
Recently, we completed a multi-day simulator evaluation
with the FAA to ensure the overall software system
performs as intended.Working with, listening to and learning
fromcustomersandpartners.
Boeing has conducted 20 conferences across theglobe
with more than 1,100 participants from over 250
organizations to help prepare the 737 MAX to fly again.
To fully prepare for the safe return to service, we are
holding weekly technical support calls with customers
worldwide. And we have developed a comprehensive
package of training and educational resources.Strengthening the culture of
safety within Boeing.
A specially appointed Board of Directors committee
conducted a rigorous, five-month independent review
of our policies and processes. We have adopted their
recommendations. In late September, we announceda new Product and Services Safety organization. It
will review all aspects of product safety and maintain
oversight of our Accident Investigation Team as well as
our safety review boards. We have also established a
formal Design Requirements Program and enhanced
our Continued Operation Safety Program. And we
are partnering with airline customers on flight deck
designs and expanding the reach of our Boeing Safety
Promotion Center.Improvement that never stops.
Across Boeing, we are strengthening safety, including
throughout our supply chain. We have broadened
the use of a comprehensive safety management
system and safety review boards to standardize safety
policies and share best practices. By expanding our
anonymous reporting system, we’re encouraging
employees to bring forward potential safety issues. As
always, we are investing in product design, future flight
decks, infrastructure, regulation, education and new
technologies. Our global operations center will continue
to provide round-the-clock fleet support to airlines.
We are leveraging advanced analytics, production
flights and on-site demonstrations to ready the fleet
to fly once regulators lift the grounding. And, looking
to the future, we are also investing in STEM education
to help address the growing need for pilots and
maintenance technicians.As we continue to make steady progress in
safely returning the 737 MAX to service, we will
never forget the lives lost, and our commitment
to safety, quality and integrity is unwavering.
We are truly sorry , and we continue to offer our deepest sympathies to the
families and friends who lost loved ones in the accidents of Lion Air 610 and
Ethiopian Airlines 302. The memory of these tragedies will continue to drive
us to do everything we can to make our airplanes safer.
A progress report
on the 737 MAX,
on Boeing, on safety.