The real reason Boeing's new plane crashed twice

This is an airplane engine.
這是個飛機引擎。

It's sitting in a field in Bishoftu, Ethiopia— part of the wreckage of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed on March 10, 2019.
靜靜躺在Ethiopia,Bishoftu的一個油田 - Ethiopia航空公司302航班的殘骸的一部分，在2019年3月10日墜毀。

157 people died.
157人喪生。

This was just a few months after another flight, Lion Air 610, crashed in Indonesia and killed 189 people.
而在幾個月後，另一架飛機，Lion Air 610在印度墜毀，造成189人死亡。

These two flights were operating the same plane: The Boeing 737 MAX 8.
這兩台風機都屬於同一機種: 波音737MAX 8。

And its engine is the key to understanding why this particular plane has caused so many problems.
而它的引擎是了解為何此機種有這麼多相關墜毀案的關鍵。    

But there's nothing actually wrong with this engine.
但是這個引擎沒有任何問題。

In fact, airplane manufacturers raced to put them on their new planes.
事實上，各大飛機製造商都相繼將此款引擎加裝到他們的新機種上。

That's where the problem started.
而問題從此開始發生。

The two biggest airplane manufacturers in the world are Airbus and Boeing.
Airbus和波音是全球最大的兩個飛機製造商。

And they have a fierce rivalry.
他們有激烈的競爭關係。

If one of them can offer a better plane, the other could lose a lot of money.
如果他們中的一個可以提供更好的飛機，另一個可能會損失很多錢。

That's exactly what was about to happen in 2010.
這種情況在2010時有發生過。

Airbus announced that they would update their most popular model, the A320, a single-aisle
airplane that services many domestic flights.
Airbus宣布他們將更新他們最受歡迎的型號A320，單走道小客機，服務於許多國內航班的機型。

You've probably been on one.
你說不定坐過。

For this new plane, Airbus had a big update.
對於這架新飛機，Airbus公司進行了重大更新。

It would have a new kind of engine.
他即將加裝一種新的引擎。

It was much larger than the previous engine, but it would make the plane 15 percent
more fuel efficient.
比先前的引擎大得多，但會減少飛機的整體油耗15%。

And just as importantly, this upgrade wouldn't change the plane that much.
但是重要的事情在於，這項更新不會過度改變原來的飛機設計。

A pilot could walk into the new model, with little additional training, and be on their way.
機師只需要經過附加訓練，就可以熟悉這種新機型，並且上飛行線。

It was called the A320 NEO, and it would save airlines a lot of money.
新的機型叫: A320 NEO，原本這會幫航空公司省下不少錢。

This was a problem for Boeing.
但問題在波音。

To compete with Airbus, Boeing's obvious move was to upgrade the engine on their single-aisle plane, the 737.
為了與Airbus競爭，波音公司也針對性的升級了他們的單走道客機737的引擎。

But there was one issue.
但有一個問題。

Here's a sketch of the 737 next to the Airbus A320.
這是一張737和A320的草圖。

Notice how the 737 is lower to the ground than the A320.
請注意737比A320更接近於地面。

This meant Airbus could slide a new engine under the wing of their A320.
這代表Airbus可以在A320的機翼下塞進他們的新引擎。

But there wasn't enough room under the wing of the Boeing 737.
但對波音737來說，底下的空間稍嫌太小。

But a few months later, Boeing's product development head had big news.
但經過幾個月後，波音的產品開發部門首長宣布了一個大消息。

He said: "We figured out a way to get a big enough engine under the wing."
他說: 我們找到了如何將新的大引擎塞進機翼下的方法了。

Their solution was to move up the engine on the wing, so that it would be slightly higher
and it would fit on their 737s.
他們的解決辦法為將引擎提到機翼上，這樣整顆引擎高度就會提高，裝在機翼下方。

Here's a promotional video of that updated 737 in the air.
這是更新過後的737在空中的宣傳視頻。

You can actually see that the top of the engine is above the wing.
可以很清楚地發現，引擎的頂部是高於機翼的。

Boeing called this model the 737 MAX.
波音將這款機型稱為737 MAX。

And just like Airbus with the A320, Boeing said their new plane was so similar to its
predecessor that pilots would only need minimal additional training.
然後就如Airbus的A320一樣，波音宣稱新的機型跟舊款很相似，且機師只要花最少的時間就能學會了。

The 737 MAX became the hottest selling plane on the market.
737MAX機型成為市場上最熱銷的機型。

And it helped Boeing keep up with AirBus.
也讓波音公司迎頭趕上Airbus。

Except, moving the engine up on the 737 had a side effect.
但是，將引擎提高對737來說有個副作用。

When the 737 MAX was in full thrust, like during takeoff, the nose tended to point too
far upward, which could lead to a stall.
當737MAX到達最高推進的時候，如起飛時，機首會提得太高，這可能會導致失速。

This was a problem, because these planes were supposed to behave exactly like the old ones.
這是個大問題，因為這些更新後的機種理應要和舊機型有一樣的飛行行為。

So Boeing came up with a workaround.
所以波音提出了解決之道。

Instead of re-engineering the planes, they installed software that automatically pushed
the nose downward if the pilot flew the plane at too high of an angle.
他們沒有重新設計飛機，而是安裝了自動軟體；如果飛行員以過高的角度飛行，則軟體會將機頭朝下壓一點。

They called it the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.
他們稱為"機動特性增強系統"，或MCAS。

But because Boeing was selling the 737 MAX as pretty much the same plane as the 737,
they didn't highlight the new MCAS system.
但是因為波音公司將737 MAX標榜為737相同特性的飛機，他們沒有強調新的MCAS系統。

Many pilots only got a two-hour iPad course before entering the cockpit for the first time.
許多機師只在平板上上了2小時的課程，就直接開始他們的首航。

And the "training material did not mention" the MCAS software.
而且訓練課程也沒有提到MCAS軟體。

In 2018, several American pilots complained to the federal government that the 737 MAX
was "suddenly nosing down."
在2018年，有些機師向聯邦政府反映737MAX會突然"機首向下"。

On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 took off from Jakarta.
在2018年10月29日，Lion Air 610航班從雅加達起飛。

In the flight report, which shows the plane's altitude over time, you can see that the plane
was in full thrust during takeoff.
從飛行紀錄中，可以顯示出飛機隨著時間的高度變化；你可以看到飛機正常的以全推力起飛。

But at a certain point, the nose of the plane kept lurching downward.
但在特定的時間點，機首開始往下壓。

The pilots couldn't figure out why this was happening.
機師也搞不清楚這是什麼狀況。

The captain "asked the first officer to check the quick reference handbook."
機長要求副駕駛去查看參考手冊。。

They couldn't find the solution.
但他們找不出原因。

The pilots continued to fight with the MCAS.
機師們繼續在抵抗MCAS軟體。

The plane struggled to gain altitude.
飛機掙扎地在爬升著。

Reports show it was likely because the computer was getting incorrect sensor data, pushing
the plane toward the earth below.
資料顯示出可能是因為電腦感應器數據不正確，因而直接將飛機推向地面。

12 minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed into the Java Sea.
在起飛後的12分鐘後，飛機墜毀於爪哇海中。

In the Ethiopia crash, the report shows that the pilots were actually able to disable the
MCAS, but it was too late to overcome the malfunctioning MCAS sensors.
在Ethiopia的事故中，報告顯示飛行員實際上已經禁用MCAS，但要克服故障的MCAS傳感器已經為時已晚。

For now, nearly every 737 MAX 8 in service has been grounded.
在現金，幾乎所有的737MAX 8都被全面停飛。

And the Federal Aviation Administration is facing scrutiny over how they rushed this plane through certification.
美國聯邦航空管理局（Federal Aviation Administration）正在被審查，為何他們在倉促的情況下核准了此機型的證照

Boeing's response has been to apply a software update and make the MCAS "less aggressive," while also saying they'll increase pilot training on how to turn it off.
波音公司的回應是將軟體更新好讓MCAS“不那麼激進”，同時還表示他們將新增關於如何關閉它的飛行員培訓。

This problem started with a company's race to compete with its rival.
這個問題始於一間公司與敵對公司間的競爭。

It pushed them to pretend like their new plane behaved exactly like their old one.
使得他們假裝他們的新機型表現得和舊機型完全一樣。

Even when it didn't.
就算真相是否定的。

 

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