Haste Makes Waste: The Boeing 737-MAX software failure
By UYLESS BLACK
Special to The Press
Imagine the terror experienced by the passengers of the two Boeing 737-MAX airplanes that recently crashed, killing everyone aboard both planes. Imagine the frustrated terror experienced by the occupants in the flight cabin, as they tried unsuccessfully to pull the airplanes’ noses up.
Without help from the pilots, and courtesy of faulty software, on Oct. 29, 2018, one of the planes turned itself downward and plunged into the sea. The other plane ploughed into the earth on March 10, 2019.
In the three previous articles to this series, faulty health care software was cited as being responsible for lost productivity and user dissatisfaction. On occasion, the klutzy software created dangerous situations for a patient, but the result was rarely the loss of life. That cannot be said for the software in these airplanes — 346 people lost their lives.
Software failure has been identified as the sole cause of the crashes. Taking control of the aircraft, the software did not allow the pilots to override the automated programs, to take command of the situation and correct the path of the planes.
I trust you do not think I am writing these articles as a “the sky is falling” fearmonger. However, it must be said that we humans are becoming more and more dependent on software.
As for the health care and aircraft industries, we expect software to take care of our lives. It is not unreasonable to ask software managers and their programmers to produce code that does not place our lives in jeopardy for using it.
I know just enough about software programming to be ill-at-ease in understanding that the brakes on my car are controlled by two parties: me and some unknown programmers who are constantly working under deadlines to get their code up and running. I also try not to feel uneasy when I am flying on commercial planes, knowing the ailerons on the airplane’s wings may be beyond the control of the pilot. I still drive and I still fly, as I have no choice.
In the meantime, all airlines around the world have grounded their 737-M airplanes. With the absence of these aircraft in their inventory, airlines are canceling flights, suffering significant revenue losses and announcing an increase in ticket prices.
What to do to fix the problem? Write more software and patch it onto the ailing system. We learn from the news media: “Boeing crews have made 96 flights to test a software update for its troubled 737 MAX jet. More test flights are planned in the coming weeks as the company attempts to convince regulators that the plane is safe.”
Boeing crews — and later, the crews of scores of airlines — made thousands of flights using the faulty software. Everything went along just fine ... until it didn’t.
Recently, Southwest Airlines, the biggest buyer of Boeing planes, has announced it is extending its grounding of the 737-M planes because the software to fix the software is still under test.
Tremendous pressure is being placed on Boeing, from its executives down the chain of command to its programmers. The company has to make sure the fixing of the software is fulfilling its job description, that of repairing flawed software.
According to an AP article (See CDA Press, April 14, 2019, page M6): “Other airlines are likely to follow Southwest’s example, putting pressure [my italics] on Boeing to finish fixing software on an anti-stall system implicated in two deadly crashes.”
Let’s hope their haste does not result in the waste of yet more lives. The situation does not make me eager to fly again. My fear is not that the sky is falling, but my airplane might be. (I cannot avoid thinking: Why not let a human actually fly the plane? It has worked just fine for many decades.)
The next article in this series recounts this writer’s experience with a software system used to manage the money supply and interest rates of America. This fifth article also offers some ideas that might compensate for the bad news portioned out in the first four pieces of this series.
Nonetheless, go to this website to view the problems associated with the Boeing 737-M. Your habit of remaining sober on your next airplane flight might take a turn-around: https://bit.ly/2OeT2pE
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Uyless Black has retired from writing computer code. Living in Coeur d’Alene with his wife Holly and pup Lilli, he now spends much of his time writing books about a variety of subjects ... none include the subject of computers.