[SystemSafety] IEEE Spectrum article on the Boeing 737 MAX

Peter Bishop pgb at adelard.com
Tue Apr 30 17:00:52 CEST 2019


Re your last para,

I think the main issue with the Travis statement is not engine
dimensions, or the size of engines in general.
My understanding is that efficiency is determined by compression ratio
for internal combustion engines and bypass ratio for fanjets. A bigger
fan means a (relatively) bigger engine that has to be accommodated
somehow on the airframe.

Re comment on AOA failure, I agree that it does not happen "all the
time" per aircraft, but *per fleet* they would be quite common events.
However an individual pilot might never experience this in a career, so
training to handle such cases is important (as it is with engine
problems that can occur with similar frequency).

Peter B

On 30/04/2019 11:17, Peter Bernard Ladkin wrote:
> IEEE Spectrum has recently published an article by Gregory Travis on the MCAS function of the Boeing
> 737 MAX aircraft, which has been provisionally implicated in two recent crashes. It was commended by
> both Bruce Schneier and John Naughton.
>
> Travis identifies as a pilot and a software engineer. There are technical mistakes in it, mostly
> concerning airplane aerodynamics, but Travis also suggests the programmers of the MCAS software
> function also had a role to play. I doubt it.
>
> My essay is in Risks 31.21 and a modified version at
> https://abnormaldistribution.org/index.php/2019/04/30/ieee-spectrum-on-possible-software-involvement-in-two-recent-airliner-crashes/
>
>
> PBL
>
> Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Bielefeld, Germany
> MoreInCommon
> Je suis Charlie
> Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs-bi.de
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The System Safety Mailing List
> systemsafety at TechFak.Uni-Bielefeld.DE
> Manage your subscription: https://lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/mailman/listinfo/systemsafety

-- 
Peter Bishop
Chief Scientist
Adelard LLP
24 Waterside, 44-48 Wharf Rd, London N1 7UX
http://www.adelard.com
Recep:  +44-(0)20-7832 5850
Direct: +44-(0)20-7832 5855

Registered office: 5th Floor, Ashford Commercial Quarter, 1 Dover Place,
Ashford, Kent TN23 1FB
Registered in England & Wales no. OC 304551. VAT no. 454 489808

This e-mail, and any attachments, is confidential and for the use of
the addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient, please
telephone 020 7832 5850. We do not accept legal responsibility for
this e-mail or any viruses.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/mailman/private/systemsafety/attachments/20190430/bcf0eb15/attachment.html>


More information about the systemsafety mailing list