Originally Posted by
krismiler
Would the MAX be able to be certified against the latest requirements if it was treated as a stand alone, brand new aircraft type with no reference to previous generations of the B737 ?
If you were going to build a brand new aircraft, you wouldn't have built something like the MAX.
As DR notes, I've already stated my belief that the MAX could have been certified to the current regs with minimal changes. Oh, it would take quite a bit of of time and money to redo every last part of the cert, but it could be done. There isn't much of the non-structural cert basis that is carried over from original 737 cert (and the structural regulations haven't changed much). Further, no one is claiming the 737 MAX design is structurally deficient (and before anybody launches on the NG pickle fork issue - every indication is that the problem with the pickle forks is due to the build process causing fatigue cracks, not the basic structural design).
Of course a brand new, from the ground up design wouldn't have a lot in common with the 737 - there has been a considerable amount of technological change and advancement in the last 50 years. Heck, there isn't a lot common between the 767 and the 787, and that was only ~25 years.
I repeat, the issues with the MAX have nothing to do with the cert basis, they have everything to do with the cert execution. As hec7or notes, even items like rotor burst and wire separation should have been addressed per the Changed Product Rule. But they weren't.
BTW, with all the bitching and moaning about 'grandfathered' 737 cert basis, remember that the 'modern' A320 cert basis is over 35 years old, and there were not that many changes to the regulations between when the 737 was launched and when the A320 was launched...