Originally Posted by
sadtraveller
[snip]
18. (Opinion) If there are regions of the 737 flight envelope (e.g. extreme trim, opposing elevator) under which pilots lose vertical authority, the whole 737 fleet, both maxs and NGs (assuming that they are also affected by the same issue), should be grounded until such a time as trim deflection is mechanically limited to prevent entry into these uncontrollable regions of the flight envelope.
[snip]
This
My reading of this whole catastrophe is that the certification of the B737MAX
and the B737NG may now be thrown into question.
The FAA will undoubtedly approve "MCAS 2.0" in as quick a time as they consider respectable, but the evidence shows that there is such a degree of regulator capture that this will be hard to see as an objective evidence-based process.
Others, particularly CAAC and EASA, may not be so easily convinced. The Russian regulator would probably be onside with that judging by their actions a couple of years ago to attempt remove certification from the B737NG.
That would be catastrophic for Boeing and for the air transport industry world-wide: half the global narrow-body fleet grounded indefinitely hardly bears thinking about.