There are software bugs in the flight simulation software for Boeing 737 Max machines, as reported by the US aircraft manufacturer. Meanwhile, Boeing made corrections to the software and the users informed about it, the company told the news agency AFP. This was to ensure that the flight simulation was „representative of different flight conditions“. For the first time, Boeing acknowledged that there was a design flaw in software for the 737 Max machines.
The relevant software is used to train pilots. According to the company, the change that has since been made concerns the operation of a rarely used manually operable steering wheel with which the flight angle of the machine can be changed. According to Boeing, the flight simulation software was unable to simulate certain flight conditions similar to those encountered in the crash of the two 737 Max aircraft in March and October.
Two crashes within a few months
In March, a Boeing 737 Max 8 of the airline Ethiopian Airlines crashed. All 157 people on board were killed. In October 2018, 189 people died in the crash of a Boeing 737 Max 7 off the coast of Indonesia. In both cases it is suspected that the MCAS stabilization system could be responsible for the accidents.
In response, more and more states imposed a flight ban on the machine type in March, until Boeing withdrew it himself and imposed extensive tests.
Recently announced software update
It was only this week that Boeing announced that it had finalized an update to the stabilization software for the 737 Max machines. Altogether 207 flights with a total duration of 360 hours with the updated system were flown.
Before the 737 Max can resume flight operations, the US FAA must approve a readmission.
