“If it was my call to make, Muilenburg would’ve been fired long ago,” Rep. Peter DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon and the chairman of the House Transportation Committee investigating Boeing, said in an email. “Boeing could send a strong signal that it is truly serious about safety by holding its top decision-maker accountable.”
Sounds like deterrent sentencing, a subject that makes my blood boil. From that baying, I get the feeling DeFazio is a direct descendant of witch burners.
Mr. Muilenburg continued to press the F.A.A. In early November, he called Mr. Dickson to ask whether he would consider allowing the company to begin delivering airplanes before they were cleared to fly. The administrator said he would look into it but made no commitments, according to an F.A.A. spokesman.
Huh, my suggestion a few days ago wasn't so off-the-wall after all.
Back on the technical/operating aspects. How do pilots on this forum react to being 'ordered' to not turn the stabilizer power cut-off toggles back on? I've always been pretty certain that I would have powered up the system for another try of the electric trim as soon as I found I physically could not turn the trim wheels. Again the concept of reaching for a checklist in the midst of that chaos is anathema to me, but having said that, even the ET captain probably only had the sketchiest idea about the system, even post the advisory. I can't imagine being so hazy about the most powerful aerodynamic surface on the aircraft, even given that I wouldn't have known about MCAS.
I recall clearly how deeply we were questioned on the ARB type ratings. I also remember the first pilots and engineers coming back from the DC10 course. They had been worried about their ability to learn the systems, but utterly relieved to find that so much was simply check-list derived. An indication of what was to come.