BOEING 737 MAX 8 Crisis
(Commentary by Dara Precious Asiimwe)
For over half a century, airplanes have been the ultimate means of travel, making it easier to travel long distances. An airplane is a delicate type of transport involving travelling in air, but it surprisingly only takes about nine (9) days to manufacture one. However, like all great creations, there are some downsides if there is the slightest error.
On 10 March 2019, an Ethiopian airplane, crashed on its way to Nairobi, leading to the death of 137 people just six (6) minutes after take-off. Prior to that, on 29 October 2019, a Lion Air flight crashed into the Java sea killing 189 people, twelve (12) minutes after take-off. These tragedies happened on different occasions but are linked to the same type of plane, the Boeing 737 Max 8. Both planes were new and manufactured by Boeing. Apart from the black box recovered from the Lion Air flight which pointed out possibility of a manufacturing problem, there is no other evidence that has proven anything. Although, development over the past few days may change that.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes are one of the most used and efficient manufacturers for planes globally. The Boeing 737 Max is an American aircraft series designed as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. The Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane was meant to be the breakthrough of technology in the Boeing Commercial Airplane with a bigger and better engine.
However, with the tragedies happening, it brings to question whether it is safe to use. Some countries including China, Ethiopia and North Korea have acted immediately to prevent such incidences by holding an emergency check-up investigation on the remaining Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. China’s motive and priority is safety for its citizens and passengers. While Southwest Airlines in America is still in standing with Boeing assuring safety to their passengers, claiming their pilots are well trained in using Boeing 737 Max 8. They tweeted a speculation of the lack of proper training of pilots and not on the malfunction of the plane.
In recent news, more than 30 countries including USA have grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. Before, the USA airlines had assured safety to their users, but later grounded the planes after concerns of safety to the public. It is quite fascinating how countries everywhere work hard together to ensure safety of their citizens. The investigation and grounding of the Boeing planes is a necessary concern of safety and room for improvement in Boeing Commercial plane company.
In conclusion, the disasters have brought a bad reputation to the Boeing Commercial plane company. Instead of building a bigger and better engine, safety should be their priority and if the blame is on the lack of training then it should be insisted by them to prevent further incidences.
______________________________________________________________
For further reading, explore the following articles:
Image Source: Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment