[HN Gopher] United Airlines inspections find loose bolts on seve...
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       United Airlines inspections find loose bolts on several 737 Max 9
       aircraft
        
       Author : doomlaser
       Score  : 79 points
       Date   : 2024-01-08 21:20 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.cnbc.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.cnbc.com)
        
       | outside1234 wrote:
       | Such a crappy aircraft - can we just get rid of these already?
        
         | jlmorton wrote:
         | Always refactor
        
         | kube-system wrote:
         | Bolts can be loosened, or fail to be tightened on any aircraft.
         | I suspect this may be a problem with people and/or procedure.
        
           | RomanPushkin wrote:
           | The question is not about bolts, but more about what else is
           | hidden there, what else is mechanically neglected that's
           | waiting in there to take lives
        
           | adrian_b wrote:
           | Since the aircraft with the incident was extremely new, it is
           | pretty certain that the bolts have not been properly
           | assembled at Boeing, so the problem is with their assembly
           | procedures.
        
         | infotainment wrote:
         | Agreed -- while we're at it, let's break Boeing up into
         | multiple firms. It has been "too big to fail" for too long.
        
           | jerlam wrote:
           | Not sure that would help - the Boeing subcontractor that
           | likely played a role in the defective parts, Spirit Aero, was
           | previously part of Boeing and spun off in 2005.
        
             | AnthonyMouse wrote:
             | If Boeing has insufficient competition, they don't have to
             | care because their customers have limited alternatives. If
             | they don't have to care then they don't have to care if
             | their subcontractors care. They also have limited fear of
             | regulators because the US government will be wary about
             | damaging the country's sole supplier in an important
             | industry.
             | 
             | Break them up and it's easier for both the market and the
             | government to punish bad behavior.
        
         | KptMarchewa wrote:
         | Force it to develop actually new airplane, not rely on
         | grandfathered type license from 60 years ago.
        
           | selectodude wrote:
           | They keep trying to do that. This mess of a plane is care of
           | Southwest and Ryanair who wanted a re-engined 737, period.
        
           | _jal wrote:
           | I don't know that they could. We're talking about Boeing,
           | they're the sort of MBA hive that's embarrassed to have to
           | employ engineers.
        
         | ramesh31 wrote:
         | >Such a crappy aircraft - can we just get rid of these already?
         | 
         | It was a beautiful aircraft, destroyed by years of management
         | comittees.
         | 
         | Boeing needs to be broken up and reorganized, full stop.
         | Congress has to act. It is simply too important and vital of a
         | company to US strategic interests to be left in this state.
        
           | epicureanideal wrote:
           | Maybe Apple, or Elon Musk, or some other person or company
           | with a spare hundred billion could spin up a decent aircraft
           | company?
        
       | trebligdivad wrote:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maLBGFYl9_o is a good video
       | explaining how the bolts/doors etc are supposed to go together.
        
       | rconti wrote:
       | So, about that Max 10 on which you were hoping to get fast-track
       | approval...
        
         | 0cf8612b2e1e wrote:
         | Airbus must be having a fantastic week.
        
           | squiffsquiff wrote:
           | Airbus is Fire RN
        
       | dataflow wrote:
       | How were these not noticed in proper inspections? Is this the
       | first time these planes have been inspected?
        
         | Kluggy wrote:
         | They generally don't disassemble the entire plane every time
         | they get inspected...
        
           | dataflow wrote:
           | This required a full disassembly to be noticed?
        
           | janice1999 wrote:
           | They do disassemble the entire plane for heavy maintenance
           | checks every 6-12 years. The MAX 9 has been in operation for
           | just a few weeks though...
        
             | 0cf8612b2e1e wrote:
             | That's pretty incredible. After a heavy maintenance
             | breakdown, what percentage of the plane gets replaced? Or
             | is everything already on a routine maintenance schedule so
             | the intention is to visually identify unexpectedly failing
             | parts?
        
           | jupp0r wrote:
           | IIRC every bolt's torque value needs to be logged any time
           | it's (re)fastened. At least that's true for aircraft engine
           | maintenance, not sure if it applies to the assembly process
           | of the airframe, I'd sure hope so!
        
             | SketchySeaBeast wrote:
             | Man, if that's not automated how do they keep the numbers
             | from being fudged? That's a lot of bolts, isn't it?
        
             | sparky_z wrote:
             | Which doesn't rule out, say, a design flaw that allows the
             | bolt to loosen over time under certain circumstances.
        
           | gnopgnip wrote:
           | Shouldn't the bolts be safety wired after being torqued?
        
         | exabrial wrote:
         | Precisely... everyone other "expert" on HN is asking the wrong
         | questions
        
       | 2mol wrote:
       | Duplicate of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38917820 ?
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | [dupe]
       | 
       | Discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38917820
        
         | genman wrote:
         | So is this comment -
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38918949
        
       | Aqueous wrote:
       | Literally just flew on a United Airlines 737 MAX 9 one week ago.
       | It seems like the craft I flew on has probably been grounded in
       | the week since. I noticed that we were flying on a MAX before
       | boarding and nearly asked to switch flights, but consoled myself
       | that I was being irrational and that the planes were almost
       | certainly fine now. Guess my confidence was misplaced.
        
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       (page generated 2024-01-08 23:00 UTC)