Ethiopian Airlines crash, 157 dead

[StealthPolarBear]

Awful news. So sorry for their families.

Really sad to hear and I can't bear to think how the families will be thinking. I was really shocked in that it happened so fast

God that's awful!

Jesus.
Poor buggers.

Yes soon after take off.

Boeing 737 Max8, same brand new aircraft that crashed in Indonesia in October in very similar circumstances.

Looks like a software glitch you don't want.

...Now grounded by the UK CAA, and more and more countries, but still not by the US FAA who say there's nothing to worry about.

Oh no. How awful

The pilots over on the PPRuNe forum certainly think there is something to worry about! 2 crashes in similar circumstances after takeoff on a new aircraft is definitely a matter for urgent investigation and I am very glad that the airline I am travelling on in a few weeks has grounded its MAX fleet.

There must be a link. Let's hope that black box (is that what tells you?) tells us what happened

The whole concept should be banned for passenger aircraft.

It's a true "Fly-by-Wire" design that is inherently unstable and would fall out of the sky but for the constant computer-controlled corrections no pilot would be capable of making.

You cannot turn it off, and if you do something it doesn't like, it fights you.

Bad.

It's a true "Fly-by-Wire" design that is inherently unstable and would fall out of the sky but for the constant computer-controlled corrections no pilot would be capable of making

Rubbish. The 737 Max 8 is not a fly-by-wire design. The 777 and 787 are fly-by-wire but the 737 is not. It has a fly-by-wire spoiler system (the plates on top of the wing which rise up when you land) but all the control surfaces are controlled by the pilots.

And no, it is not inherently unstable. The only fly-by-wire aircraft that are inherently unstable are fighters. An inherently unstable airliner would not be certified airworthy as it needs to be fully controllable by the pilots even if all the fly-by-wire computers fail. And there is no reason to make an airliner unstable. You make a fighter unstable because that makes it more manoeuvrable but you don't need to throw an airliner around the sky.

You cannot turn it off, and if you do something it doesn't like, it fights you

Even in genuine fly-by-wire airliner this is not true. The fly-by-wire system can always be disabled. It will also disable itself in some situations, e.g. if it is getting inconsistent readings from the various instruments.