Boeing says it has corrected the 737 Max 8 simulator software used to train pilots

Boeing says it has corrected the 737 Max 8 simulator software used to train pilots

PW Bureau

Boeing is working closely with the device manufacturers and regulators on these changes and improvements, a spokesperson said

New Delhi: New Corrections have been made to the simulator software that mimics the flying experience of its 737 Max 8 planes, which were involved in two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed everyone onboard, a spokesperson from Boeing said.

According to a report by Reuters, Gordon Johndroe said that the changes will make sure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions and will improve the simulation of force loads on the manual trim wheel that helps control the airplane.

"Boeing is working closely with the device manufacturers and regulators on these changes and improvements, and to ensure that customer training is not disrupted," Johndroe said.

The backdrop

The statement comes close on the heels of a report in the New York Times which said that Boeing had recently discovered that the flight simulators airlines used to train pilots did not adequately replicate conditions and that was one of the factors that played a role in the 737 Max 8 crashes.

The report also said that the simulators are not built by Boeing but the company provides the underlying information on which they are designed and built.

The crashes

737 Max 8 planes were grounded across the world in March after a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 on board. This preceded by another crash just five months ago in Indonesia, where a Lion Air flight of a 737 MAX killed 189 people.

Boeing had said on May 16 that it had completed a software update for its 737 Max planes and had also submitted a pilot training plan to the US Federal Aviation Administration.

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