Originally Posted by
n5296s
I can't help thinking about the 2 vs 3 AoA sensor thing. Strikes me that EASA/ChinaAA could well say, if MCAS is required to make the aircraft certifiable, and AoA sensors (evidently) have a high failure rate, then you need 3 of them, otherwise you have a single point of failure. I guess it's POSSIBLE to retrofit a third sensor, but not something you do in a couple of days per aircraft.
I also suspect that EASA could be persuaded to roll over on this one, but what about China? In the middle of a trade dispute and only too happy to rub egg into Trump/USA's face...? I even wonder whether Trump's sudden reversal on Huawei this week might not be connected.
If and when the FAA and EASA lift the restriction on the Max, China will inevitably follow suit. To do otherwise would be counter-productive. Trump has been hinting for the last month that the Huawei ban could be lifted in return for progress on trade talks, so nothing to do with the 737.
And it's inconceivable that the fix will involve retrofitting a third AoA sensor on 400+ aircraft, particularly when only two are required in order to identify that one is sending bad data and trigger the "AoA Disagree" warning that the Max already has provision for.