Some posters in this thread have wondered if reliability stats exist for AoA sensors.
Apparently the FAA mandates that for US operators all aircraft faults that require maintenance actions are to be reported within 28 days of occurrence. (Yes, for all items big or small, even for the simplest things such as loose exit signs or a flat battery pack in a FA emergency flashlight!)
CNN (yep, them) went hunting through the public database looking for evidence.
“The FAA has received at least 216 reports of AOA sensors failing or having to be repaired, replaced or adjusted since 2004, according to data from the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reporting website.
Those reports, about one-fifth of which involve Boeing planes, include incidents in which AOA sensors were frozen, improperly installed, struck by lightning or even hit by flying birds. In some cases, faulty sensors led to stall warnings, forcing pilots to abort takeoffs or perform emergency landings.”
More alarming in the
CNN article with video is the claim that unnamed Boeing sources (ex. a former MAX test pilot) report that the 737MAX series were not tested against AoA failure: "
I don't think we appreciated the ramifications of a failure of an AOA probe."
Goes on...(in the expected style).
FAA's
Service Difficulty Reporting website (if you're keen to explore there's a Search Reports link in the left column on the site)