Trade-off between Technical Airworthiness and Operating Costs Study Based on B737 MAX MCAS System Failures

Abstract

Airborne software is invisible, intangible, and unlike the physical structures of the aircraft, which can be inspected, measured, and thoroughly tested. Given that airborne software can significantly impact the safety of the aircraft, its abnormal behaviours may cause the aircraft to be in a catastrophic failure condition. This essay studied the trade-off between technical airworthiness and operating costs based on B737 MAX MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) failures. The key aspects of 737 Max Accidents are identified and analyzed. It could be concluded that the airborne software was not the root cause of MCAS failure, the software correctly implemented the requirements allocated from the system, however, there was design flaws in the system design architecture and safety assessment process mainly due to the pressure of competition and the pursuit of profit.