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Bailey back on VA to receive 30 Boeing 737 Max?? -

Via Skynews Oz:

'Pilots just don't practice': Aviation expert Captain Byron Bailey says Boeing 737 Max models are 'terrific' amid safety concerns

One Australian airline is set to receive more than 30 Boeing aircraft models that have been at the centre of safety concerns over recent years, however, a former commercial pilot with more than 45 years of flying experience has told Sky News Australia they are "terrific" planes.

David Wu and Laurence Karacsony
5 min read
September 13, 2024 - 2:30PM

A former Australian commercial airline pilot has backed the safety of a Boeing aircraft model that is under the spotlight, following a number of disasters in recent years.

Two Boeing 737 MAX planes were in two fatal crashes, involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, in the space of six months in 2018/19, which left 346 people and crew dead.

An investigation later determined an error in a control software called MCAS had malfunctioned from sensor failures, pushing the plane's nose down into a deadly dive.

The system was brought in to help pilots already familiar with the previous 737 models and eliminated the need for extra training which would have cost Boeing.


One Australian airline is set to receive more than 30 Boeing aircraft models that have been at the centre of safety concerns over recent years. Picture: Win McNamee/Getty Images.


Two Boeing 737 MAX-8 planes were in two fatal crashes, involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines (pictured), in the space of six months in 2018/19. Picture: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

The two crashes led to the grounding of the 737 MAX around the world for almost two years, as the Federal Aviation Administration launched a major investigation.

American authorities found information on MCAS had not been included in handbooks or training manuals, with the company later fined $2.5 billion.

It also paid $500 million in compensation to victims' families.

Boeing also stressed it would ramp up its safety procedures.

However, Byron Bailey, a former senior captain with Emirates for 15 years and ex RAAF fighter pilot told Sky News he had no concerns about the 737 MAXafter Virgin Australia ordered 31 of the aircraft.

The airline received its first MAX 8 last year and at least four in 2024, but the delivery of the remaining aircraft has been impacted by production delays.

A Virgin spokesperson said the airline currently had eight 737 MAX-8s in operation, with six more to join the fleet in 2025.

On Friday, Virgin announced it would convert 12 of their Boeing MAX-10 orders into MAX-8s to be delivered in the second half of next year, bringing the total MAX-8 fleet to 26.


Byron Bailey, a former senior captain with Emirates for 15 years and ex RAAF fighter pilot said the 737 MAX was a "terrific aeroplane". Picture: Sky News Australia.

"I think it's a terrific aeroplane, I've spoken with pilots who've flown the 737, pilots who have extensive time on previous models with the 737s and they say the 737 MAX flies better than the previous models," he told reporter Brent O'Halloran.

"There's no problem with the actual aeroplane, it's just there's been a lot of garbage talked about Boeing.

"I think Virgin’s doing the right thing. They’re a terrific aeroplane."

Mr Bailey said he had been invited to Seattle, Washington, in December 2019 by Boeing where he sat in a simulator that replicated the conditions that caused the Lion Air and Ethiopian planes to crash.

He claimed what showed up was a lack of pilot training.

"The reason you do simulated training every six months in airlines is to practice emergencies. But I think these cheap third-level airlines, these pilots just don’t practice emergencies and when anything abnormal occurs they panic," the captain said.

"They did it all wrong. It wasn’t a difficult emergency at all."

Mr Bailey said airline pilots do simulator training to prepare for the "most time critical emergency" they can encounter during a flight, something called "trim runaway".

"There's two motors that control the horizontal tower plane and if suddenly one of them activates un-commanded, then the pilot has an immediate action to stop it before it gets out of control," he said.

"I mean, all I had to do was turn the trim switches off.

"You have a big wheel that rotates by your right knee - that's when you're in the left seat - and the moment it starts moving un-commanded, you have a drill, immediate action that you must do.

"But so these guys were presented with the wheel moving the trim wheel, and they were confused as what to do. I mean, I'm just staggered."

Mr Bailey spoke to the training Virgin pilots are required to undertake when asked by SkyNews.com.au.

“Virgin are pretty standard for what’s the go in the Western world, pilots do an annual proficiency test in a simulator, and a six monthly check,” Mr Bailey said.

“The big thing is, it’s very expensive, so pilots are offline and not flying and earning the company money.

“It’s only necessary to get the guys up (to speed) on emergencies.

“Emirates, for example, straight after take-off you put the autopilot on, it does all the flying.”

In his interview with Sky News Australia, the veteran pilot said it was no surprise Boeing were to blame for “assuming these third level airlines” had the same training as Qantas and Emirates because it was “very expensive business keeping pilots up to date with emergency procedures”.

He said since the third level airlines “do things on the cheap”, when they are presented with an abnormal occurrence, and their pilots “generally can screw up”.

Mr Bailey said it was not the aeroplane which “folded”, but was the “Boeing culture” which led to the disasters.

“it’s Boeing culture that crept in, the bean counters and the engineers got too involved,” the captain said.


The veteran pilot told SkyNews.com.au Virgin trains their pilots to the standards widely accepted in the Western world. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

He said MCAS was a “stupid thing that they added to just aid in the certification” which Boeing engineers thought would “never ever be needed” as it was only meant to kick in during a scenario which “practically never happens”.

“It's only designed to work when the aeroplane has flap up, being hand flown, and got a fairly high angle of attack, in other words, it’s turning, and that is a scenario that practically never happens these days because the autopilot is engaged,” Mr Bailey said.

The captain said for the planes in question there were two autopilots, while the 777 has three, with one of them “always” engaged.

“You engage it immediately after take-off. And then as you dirty up, you clean up, you bring the flap up and you don't disengage the autopilot until you’re on final approach to landing,” Mr Bailey said.

“That's the way things are generally done these days. And the emergency that happened when the MCAS did kick in was well after take-off. All they had to do was disconnect the trim switches or engage the autopilot or put the flap back down and that would have shut out the MCAS.

“So it was a silly idea by the engineers to put it there.”

Mr Bailey said he spoke to an FAA inspector who said, “as far as he was concerned”, he would have certified the Boeing aircraft “as is”, without the MCAS feature added.

“It was only just outside the certification requirements in terms of the control column pressure, when your speed deviates, when you hand flying, from the trim speed, there has to be an exact stick pressure that comes in for every ten knots,” he said.

“For example, you might have to feel one pound of force in the stick and it didn't quite do that. And as far as he was concerned, he would have passed it. But the engineers thought, we can do a quick fix. Didn't tell the pilots.

“Boeing really shot themselves in the foot there.”

(Go to the link to view the video)

MTF...P2