SilkAir Boeing 737 Max Deliveries and Routes

[PPSFlyer]

SilkAir statement on Boeing 737 MAX 8 operations

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302, and our hearts go out to those affected by the accident.

SilkAir is temporarily withdrawing its Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet from service.

SilkAir currently has six 737 MAX 8s. The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority. As of this morning, all six aircraft have been grounded in Singapore and will not be returned to service until further notice. Our 17 Boeing 737-800NGs are not affected.

The withdrawal from service of the 737 MAX 8 fleet will have an impact on some of the airline's flight schedules. Customers who may be affected by flight disruptions will be contacted for reaccommodation.

SilkAir is in close communication with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) to manage the effects of flight disruptions. We will provide updates on affected flights when finalised.

We will continue to work closely with the regulatory authorities and will provide updates when there is new information.

Customers affected by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight disruptions who require assistance may email SQ_support@singaporeair.com.sg with their six-character booking reference number and contact details, or contact our Singapore hotline at +65 6223 8888. As we are experiencing high call volumes at our call centres, we strongly encourage customers to email for assistance.

Customers are advised to update their contact details or subscribe to a mobile notification service to receive updates to their flight status here: https://bit.ly/2Lq86i0. Customers may also check our website regularly for updates.

First posted 12 March 2019, 1055hrs (GMT +8)

[flyguy]

It took CAAS grounding orders that Silkair only had to ground its 6 737-800 max. As of yesterday Silkair after the Ethiopian accident, Silkair issued a statement that says all its 6 738 max aircrafts are still flying as planned. It would better for Silkair tobe proactive and ground its lanes for checks after China authorities have issued the grounding of all chinese airlines.

[zilchster]

It took CAAS grounding orders that Silkair only had to ground its 6 737-800 max. As of yesterday Silkair after the Ethiopian accident, Silkair issued a statement that says all its 6 738 max aircrafts are still flying as planned. It would better for Silkair tobe proactive and ground its lanes for checks after China authorities have issued the grounding of all chinese airlines.

I wouldn't read too much into the China grounding. This could be politically motivated.

[flyguy]

Well, CAAS did ground the 737 max fleet just almost a day after China. But doubt China action is really "politically" motivated as they do have the largest fleet in operation and have ordered hundreds more and hence they do not want to have an incident in China or with a Chinese airlines as that would be bad.

[SQ228]

I wouldn't read too much into the China grounding. This could be politically motivated.

Really? No...

It will be interesting to see how things play out in the US now that a country like Singapore with high standards in aviation safety has followed suit. Even if short lived, the grounding can also be seen as a mark of respect for those who have lost their lives and the people they have left behind.

[SQ228]

Australia has also now suspended MAX 8 aircraft:

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-...ralia/10894426

This would have impacted MI's DRW & CNS flights had CAAS not acted earlier. As it stands now, FJ is the only airline affected by the Australian suspension.

[9V-SPL]

FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS FOR 13MAR19:

MI324 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, departure 0920hrs, arrival 1020hrs

MI323 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, departure 1105hrs, arrival 1215hrs

MI326 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, departure 1015hrs, arrival 1105hrs

MI325 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, departure 1155hrs, arrival 1300hrs

MI328 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, departure 1250hrs, arrival 1350hrs

MI327 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, departure 1435hrs, arrival 1535hrs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Supplementary flights will be mounted by Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in view of the situation:

SQ108 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, departure 1250hrs, arrival 1350hrs

SQ109 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, departure 1435hrs, arrival 1535hrs

[Scooter001]

Well.. it had to happen. Seeing that there was mounting pressure to ground the fleet.

i guess we are just fortunate that 9V-MBF was delivered shortly before this suspension. It would be bad if the aircraft was stranded during the delivery flights.

[SQ228]

Supplementary flights will be mounted by Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in view of the situation:

SQ108 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, departure 1250hrs, arrival 1350hrs

SQ109 from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, departure 1435hrs, arrival 1535hrs

Sounds like a job for an old 772ER

[Not You]

Sounds like a job for an old 772ER

A350 (9V-SMU) will be operating the additional flight to KUL.

[flyguy]

The grounding of the 737-8 max would be a good time out and for the pilots operating these planes to revisit and review its emergency procedures especially when faced with this false reading from the Angle of Attack sensors and know how to recover the aircraft and to fly it manually to the nearest airport. Boeing will aslo be rolling out softwares for this and manuals but this will take some time and am sure the 738 max will be flying again within the week or two.

[PPSFlyer]

US pilots complained at least 5 times about Boeing 737 Max problems, records show

US pilots complained at least 5 times about Boeing 737 Max problems, records show

Pilots in the United States complained at least five times in recent months about problems controlling their Boeing 737 Max 8 jets during critical moments of flight, the Politico news website reported on Tuesday (March 12), citing federal records.

Some of the incidents appear to involve the same anti-stall system that has come up as a potential cause of a Lion Air crash in Indonesia last October, according to a review of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) incident database that lets pilots self-report trouble, said Politico.

Investigators have not said whether the same technology had emerged as a possible cause of the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Ethiopia on Sunday, with the loss of 157 lives, although both involved airliners that mysteriously plunged to the ground minutes after takeoff.

For one US incident in November 2018, reported Politico, a commercial airline pilot reported that during takeoff, the autopilot was engaged and "within two to three seconds the aircraft pitched nose down," in a manner steep enough to trigger the plane's warning system, which sounded "Don't sink, don't sink!"

After the autopilot was disengaged, the plane climbed as normal, according to the report in the FAA database.

The reports are submitted anonymously to help improve reporting of safety problems and so do not include any information about which airline was involved, Politico said.

In addition, though the reports have a spot to note what airport was involved, often pilots do not fill out that field.

The November incident occurred days or weeks after the October crash in Indonesia, which killed 189 people aboard a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Lion Air.

The report noted that before the plane involved in the November incident took off, the crew had "discussed the recent Max 8 (anti-stall) guidance" issued by the FAA and Boeing.

The Max 8 is at the centre of a growing global ban by more than 40 countries following the Ethiopia mishap, the second fatal crash of the model in less than five months.

In the US, however, the FAA and airlines continued to permit the planes to fly.

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines operate the 737 Max 8, and United Airlines flies a slightly larger version, the Max 9. All three carriers vouched for the safety of Max aircraft on Wednesday (March 13), reported the Associated Press.

In both the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes, the plane descended sharply more than once as pilots wrestled with the controls before crashing.

In the case of Lion Air, preliminary facts suggest that the cause may have been the anti-stall system, which was designed to force the plane's nose down if it seemed to be rising steeply enough to risk a stall.

Pilots groups have complained that Boeing did too little to ensure that pilots or airlines were aware of the new anti-stall feature - or knew how to turn it off if it were malfunctioning or acting on faulty data.

In another report in the FAA database, a commercial airline pilot complained about how the FAA and Boeing were handling the problem, Politico said.

While the FAA had issued an emergency directive on Nov 7, 2018, to help pilots understand how to handle problems with the anti-stall technology, "it does nothing to address the systems issues," the pilot wrote.

The pilot further noted that the flight manuals had yet to be updated with that information at that time.

"I think it is unconscionable that a manufacturer, the FAA, and the airlines would have pilots flying an airplane without adequately training, or even providing available resources and sufficient documentation to understand the highly complex systems that differentiate this aircraft from prior models," the pilot wrote.

"The fact that this airplane requires such jury rigging to fly is a red flag. Now we know the systems employed are error prone - even if the pilots aren't sure what those systems are, what redundancies are in place, and failure modes."

The pilot added: "I am left to wonder: what else don't I know? The Flight Manual is inadequate and almost criminally insufficient. All airlines that operate the Max must insist that Boeing incorporate ALL systems in their manuals."

In a separate report from October, a pilot complained that a Max 8's autothrottles - which command the plane to accelerate to a set speed within certain parameters - were not working properly even though the crew had engaged them.

The pilot noticed quickly and adjusted the thrust manually to continue to climb.

"Shortly afterwards I heard about the (other carrier) accident and am wondering if any other crews have experienced similar incidents with the autothrottle system on the Maz?" the pilot wrote in the report.

The pilot wrote that both he or she and the captain were new with this model plane and thus "not able to identify whether it was the aircraft or me that was in error."

[flyguy]

News have surfaced that Boeing did not feel the need to inform pilots about the new AOA and the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System flight which is linked to the plane's computer fight control.

[flyguy]

And finally even in US yesterday, the FAA have grounded all 737 max 8/9 and following the lead by China who was one of the first country to ground the planes.

[Jumbojet Lover]

Now grounded in the U.S. too

3/13/19 3:00pm Update

Statement from the FAA on Ethiopian Airlines

The FAA is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft (PDF) operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory. The agency made this decision as a result of the data gathering process and new evidence collected at the site and analyzed today. This evidence, together with newly refined satellite data available to FAA this morning, led to this decision.

The grounding will remain in effect pending further investigation, including examination of information from the aircraft’s flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders. An FAA team is in Ethiopia assisting the NTSB as parties to the investigation of the Flight 302 accident. The agency will continue to investigate.

https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsid=93206