And yet another problem found with the Boeing 737 MAX
The Federal Aviation Administration says it has found another flaw in the 737 Max.
Last week FAA test pilots discovered while testing the Max in a simulator that it took too long for a computer system to respond to commands.
At the time they were following the required recovery procedures for “runaway stabilizer trim”. That’s the series of actions Boeing told pilots to use if they encountered the same sorts of problems seen in the first crash of a Max, the Lion Air 610 last October.
The commands were to correct the position of the stabilizer. Any delay makes the work of correcting the stabilizer more difficult.
This new discovery is expected to delay the return of the Boeing Max to the sky.
The problem has been traced to a flight control computer chip that was taking too long to process.
It is not clear whether this discovery sheds new light on the failure of two crews to prevent their planes from crashing.
The test pilots were reviewing Boeing’s fix for MCAS, an automated computer system that was designed to keep the plane from nosing up too quickly. MCAS has shouldered much of the blame for multiple crashes of the Max.
In a statement, Boeing said it agrees with the FAA’s request to fix the problem.