New safety concerns following crash of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft
FAA licensed commercial pilot Anthony Roman weighs in on issues with the aircraft's automated flight system.
President Trump on Tuesday said modern airplanes are too complex, following the deadly crash of a plane in Ethiopia over the weekend, underscoring the need for “great flying professionals,” as opposed to “Albert Einstein.”
“Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better,” Trump tweeted.
“Split second decisions are needed, and the complexity creates great danger,” he continued. “All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!”
The president’s tweet comes after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed minutes after takeoff from Ethiopian Bole Airport Sunday, killing all 157 people on board, including some Americans. The plane was a Boeing 737 Max 8.
The crash prompted aviation authorities from Ethiopia, China, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Britain, Ireland, and France to temporarily suspend the use of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
Britain on Tuesday, saying that it grounded the aircraft as a precautionary measure and “issued instructions to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace.”
At this point, the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has said it will continue to trust and use the aircraft but added it is investigating the crash on Sunday.
“The FAA will issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC) for Boeing 737 Max operators. The FAA continuously assesses and oversees the safety performance of U.S. commercial aircraft. If we identify an issue that affects safety, the FAA will take immediate and appropriate action,” the FAA said in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, Boeing on Tuesday said in a statement that "safety is Boeing's number one priority," and that they have "full confidence in the safety of the MAX."
"We understand that regulatory agencies and customers have made decisions that they believe are most appropriate for their home markets. We’ll continue to engage with them to ensure they have the information needed to have confidence in operating their fleets," the statement continued. "It is also important to note that the Federal Aviation Administration is not mandating any further action at this time, and based on the information currently available, we do not have any basis to issue new guidance to operators."
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In a statement on Monday, Boeing also said that it “has been developing a flight control software enhancement for the 737 MAX, designed to make an already safe aircraft even safer.”
Fox News' Lillian LeCroy, Lukas Mikelionis, Travis Fedschun, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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