Boeing’s 737 MAX Catastrophe

11/17/2020

Vineeth Mothe

Boeing’s most successful airliner has been in a series of disastrous accidents leaving the 737’s grounded from commercial use.

The Boeing 737 had just been redesigned for the fourth generation model year. Unlike Boeing’s sky-high expectations, the 737 MAX is grounded from commercial use just a couple of months into service. The primary reason for this is due to two major accidents.

Lion Air flight 610 crashed into the South Java Sea 16 minutes after takeoff, and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 nose-dived into the desert six minutes after takeoff. Neither of these crashes had any survivors. Both local investigations and Boeing’s special crash investigation concluded the front nose angle sensor had malfunctioned. This led to Boeing announcing that they will be grounding the 737 MAX from commercial use.

The 737 has been in service for over 60 years, debuting in 1964. Since its launch, not only has it become Boeing’s best aircraft, but it has become the world's best-selling airliner. The 737 makes up over 26% of all commercial aircraft still in use today and makes up over 70% of aircraft for budget airlines such as Southwest airlines, which can have a major impact on the survival of these companies along with the limited business they see with COVID-19. With many of these companies at risk and with the discontinuation of their largest airliner, the 747, the company is under immense pressure to resume production,

Boeing stated that they are in the process of redesigning the 737 MAX from a clean slate to ensure the safety of everyone on board as safety is their number one priority. The company also installed brand new, redesigned sensors to ensure no malfunctions occur in flight. The company stated they aim to get the 737 MAX back in the air by 2021.

Back

B-Line

B-Line students write articles that capture what it means to be part of the Barstow community, and record, review and analyze current events.

B-Line's origins date back to 1897, when students published "The School Paper," from Barstow's Quality Hill campus. It was published under various names in following decades, including "The Cornpatch," when Barstow moved to State Line in 1961. Today, B-Line is primarily a digital publication.

“Success in any line of work demands one know how to communicate with others concisely and persuasively.”

Adviser

List of 1 members.

Lucia Scott

MS & US Debate Assistant Coach, B-Line Advisor

(816) 277-0355

Bio
Ms. Scott is an expert in communications, both spoken and written. Besides leading the staff of student journalists at B-Line, she teaches Advanced Debate and middle school Introduction to Debate, International Studies and Current Events.

She attended high school in the Wichita area where she occupied herself with debate and writing. Ms. Scott obtained her degree in secondary education (speech/ theatre) with a minor in communication studies from Kansas State University. She received her master’s degree in communication from Baylor University in 2018.

She believes every student should be a capable communicator and self-advocate shaping their own future. She finds that both mass communication settings like B-Line and rhetorical settings like debate prepare students for their future.