Boeing Had Too Much Sway in Vetting Own Jets, FAA Was Told

By Peter Robison and Alan Levin, March 18 2019

  • Company engineers cleared equipment at center of crash probe

  • Shares drop as U.S. agency examines certification of 737 Max

(Bloomberg) --
FAA employees warned as early as seven years ago that Boeing Co. had too much sway over safety approvals of new aircraft, prompting an investigation by Department of Transportation auditors who confirmed the agency hadn’t done enough to “hold Boeing accountable.”
The 2012 investigation also found that discord over Boeing’s treatment had created a “negative work environment” among Federal Aviation Administration employees who approve new and modified aircraft designs, with many of them saying they’d faced retaliation for speaking up. Their concerns pre-dated the 737 Max development.
--With assistance from Margaret Newkirk, Nizar Manek, Michael Sasso and Rita Devlin Marier.
(1571 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-18/boeing-had-too-much-sway-checking-own-planes-faa-workers-warned

Black Box Shows Similarities in Lion Air, Ethiopian Crashes

By Nizar Manek and Rita Devlin Marier, March 18 2019

  • Ethiopian minister sees ‘clear similarities’ in Boeing events

  • 737 Max FAA approval process had flaws, Seattle Times reports

(Bloomberg) --
The Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 Max crash had similarities to the Lion Air plane that went down off the coast of Indonesia about five months ago, the nation’s transport minister said, as scrutiny of one of the aircraft’s flight control systems continued to build.
A preliminary study of the flight data recorders show “clear similarities between Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 and Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610,” Dagmawit Moges said Sunday at a press conference in Addis Ababa. The findings will be subject to further investigation, and a preliminary report will be released within 30 days, she said.
(734 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-17/black-box-shows-similarities-between-lion-and-ethiopian-crashes

BEA Begins Work on Voice Recorder From Crashed Boeing 737

By Deana Kjuka, 16 March 2019

  • Photos of the damaged devices posted on BEA Twitter account

  • Identifying victims will take up to six months, minister says

(Bloomberg) --
BEA, the French agency for civil aviation safety, has begun technical work on the cockpit voice recorder from the Boeing 737 Max that crashed in Ethiopia, it said in a tweet on Saturday.
The work is being done in coordination with the Ethiopian investigation team. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing Co. are also taking part. In Ethiopia today, Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said that it would take between five and six months to identify the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines jet.
(164 words)
--With assistance from Nizar Manek.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-16/bea-begins-work-on-boeing-737-voice-recorder-with-ethiopian-team

Trump Offers Technical Support to Ethiopia on 737 Crash: Fana

By Nizar Manek, 15 March 2019
(Bloomberg) --
President Donald Trump and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed spoke on the phone Friday about the fatal Boeing 737 Max crash that killed 157 people, broadcaster Fana reported.T
rump said Ethiopian Airlines is a “strong institution” and offered technical support “where needed,” report said. Two leaders offered condolences
(60 words — Bloomberg terminal)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O

Ethiopia Transport Minister Plans Weekend Update on 737 Crash

By Nizar Manek, 15 March 2019
(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges plans to give a press conference this weekend about the crash of a Boeing Co. 737 Max on March 10 that killed 157 people, according to a spokesman.
Briefing will include Ethiopian federal police. Investigators at French civil aviation safety authority BEA have started examining two black boxes from downed Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
(71 words — Bloomberg terminal)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O

Air Canada Suspends Outlook in Wake of Grounding: 737 Max Update

By Angus Whitley and Alan Levin, March 15 2019
(Bloomberg) --
Air Canada suspended its financial guidance for the first quarter and full year, citing the grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max and the planemaker’s suspension of deliveries.
The Montreal-based carrier said is continuing to develop a contingency plan to address the situation and will provide updates. Certain forecasts for the next two years remain in place.
--With assistance from Jason Clenfield, Abbas Al Lawati, Jihye Lee, Kyunghee Park, Lena Lee, Helene Fouquet, Benjamin Katz, Nizar Manek, Josh Wingrove, Joshua Gallu, Jennifer Epstein, Alan Levin, Shannon Pettypiece, Francois de Beaupuy, Anurag Kotoky, Harry Suhartono, Ryan Beene, Erik Wasson, Mary Schlangenstein, Shinhye Kang and Ryan Lovdahl
(1107 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-14/boeing-jet-struck-trouble-immediately-nyt-says-737-max-update

Boeing Halts Deliveries While Assembly Continues: 737 Max Update

By Mary Schlangenstein, 14 March 2019
(Bloomberg) --
More troublesome signs emerged for Boeing Co.’s 737 Max as the U.S. appeared likely to keep the jet on ground into April and satellite data suggested a link between the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash and an Indonesian disaster in October.
Meanwhile, the aircraft’s order book looked increasingly shaky as Garuda Indonesia said it would slash its purchase and French President Emmanuel Macron got set to hawk competing Airbus SE jets on a trip to China.
--With assistance from Angus Whitley, Abbas Al Lawati, Jihye Lee, Kyunghee Park, Lena Lee, Helene Fouquet, Benjamin Katz, Nizar Manek, Josh Wingrove, Joshua Gallu, Jennifer Epstein, Alan Levin, Shannon Pettypiece, Francois de Beaupuy, Anurag Kotoky, Harry Suhartono, Ryan Beene and Erik Wasson.
(1,014 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-13/ethiopian-jet-s-black-boxes-will-go-to-europe-737-max-update

France Accepts 737 Black Boxes as Macron Hunts Airbus Sales

By Christopher Jasper, Helene Fouquet and Francois de Beaupuy, March 14 2019
(Bloomberg) --

  • Technical work on downloading data from crash to start Friday

  • Talks underway on Airbus deals with Boeing Max model grounded

Ethiopia has sent black boxes from a crashed Boeing Co. 737 jet to France for decoding after refusing to hand them to U.S. authorities that had kept the Max model flying after most other regulators grounded it.
The flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders have arrived at the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses, France’s air-accident investigator, with coordination meetings underway and technical work set to start Friday. The BEA said it will download data but hasn’t been asked to analyze it.
— With assistance from Alan Levin, Harry Suhartono, Nizar Manek and Tara Patel.
(866 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-14/france-to-decode-737-black-boxes-as-macron-chases-airbus-orders

Ethiopia to Send 737's Black Boxes to Europe in Snub to U.S.

  • Government is still choosing which country will do analysis

  • Unusual decision follows FAA’s isolation in not grounding Max

By Christopher Jasper, Nizar Manek and Birgit Jennen, March 12 2019
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia will ask European air-safety experts to analyze black boxes from a crashed Boeing Co. jet in a sign U.S. authorities aren’t trusted to determine the cause of the disaster after ruling that the model is safe to fly.The government hasn’t yet decided exactly where to send the data and voice recorders, though European bodies will be approached, Ethiopian Airlines, which operated the crashed 737 Max jet, said Wednesday. Germany said it won’t be taking the boxes, citing technical complications.
(385 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-13/ethiopia-to-send-737-s-black-boxes-to-europe-in-snub-to-u-s

Ethiopian Jet's Black Boxes Will Go to Europe: 737 Max Update

By Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen and Nizar Manek, March 12 2019
(Bloomberg) --
The global standoff over the airworthiness of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jet intensified as U.S. regulators reiterated their support for the aircraft, even after the European Union and other authorities issued blanket bans.
Investigators are still trying to understand why an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 crashed near Addis Ababa on March 10, killing 157 people, less than five months after an identical Lion Air plane plunged into waters off Indonesia.
(1,019 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-12/repercussions-spread-as-singapore-australia-act-boeing-update

Ethiopia Finds Flight Recorders From Doomed Boeing 737 Max

  • Safety concerns rise after model’s second crash in five months

  • Ethiopian Air grounds jets as China, Indonesia take action

By Nizar Manek, March 11 2019
(Bloomberg) --
Investigators located voice and data recordings of the Ethiopian Airlines Group plane that crashed on Sunday minutes after takeoff, handing safety officials a crucial tool they’ll use to assess growing concerns about the safety of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jetliner.
Ethiopian Airlines announced the discovery on Monday, about 30 hours after the crash. As they piece together what happened, investigators will try to determine whether similarities with a Lion Air 737 Max that went down in October are significant or just coincidence.
(260 words — Bloomberg terminal)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O