Originally Posted by
Mad (Flt) Scientist
What appears (from the outside) to be delaying a return to flight status isn't the complexity of the task, frankly. It's FAA now going into complete CYA mode and every other decision during the MAX certification being dragged out and placed under a microscope.
The clearly-flawed certification process and the number and severity of issues, including but not limited to those related to MCAS, being encountered essentially require that the FAA (and the other national and supranational authorities) "go into complete CYA mode." The consequences of additional catastrophic losses following return to service would be . . . catastrophic. And we should remember that it is not only regulatory A's that are being covered -- quite properly.
With the people looking through the microscope (who are not just the FAA, or even industry authorities, but every politician or journo sensing a news opportunity) sometimes having little conception of how the delegated/overseen certification process is supposed to work. (And has worked well for years)
Substantial evidence now before us suggests that the process has not worked as well as some believe/would like to believe. And those politicians and journalists have every right to question the process. Please remember for whose benefit it is supposed to operate and who, ultimately, is responsible to insure that it does what is intended..