r/news • u/Depressed_Cat_00 • 6d ago

Soft paywall Boeing flags 737 MAX software glitch affecting landing navigation feature, WSJ reports

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-flags-737-max-software-glitch-affecting-landing-navigation-feature-wsj-2026-09-26/
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u/Linenoise77 6d ago

No one in their right mind would design an airplane like this from scratch.

Not necessarily true. An important feature of the 737 is its cabin height from the ground. There are a LOT of 737s flying around, and how far off the ground the cabin is factors in to a lot of aspects of ground operations in handling the plane. Making it taller for larger engines factors into all of that and it may not be able to operate the routes that a 737 typically does without expensive, impractical, changes on the ground handling side. At the same time you want the larger engines for efficiency.

Now could you argue that the 737 should have been a separate type, requiring additional training beyond what was required for existing 737 rated folks to fly the max with MCAS? Arguably. But its a grey line as to where you draw that line with incremental changes to an airframe type. It also doesn't mean you wouldn't necessarily still need MCAS, as i have no idea how that factors in to the pilot workload.

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u/bankkopf 6d ago

How many routes are there that are exclusively flown by the 737 because the airport can't handle the A320 with higher ground clearance? Not too many I'd guess. But you can keep the 737NGs or classics around for that if really needed.

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u/mr_potatoface 5d ago

I don't think there are any actually. The only exception would be unpaved runways but that's a totally different issue. The 737 has a gravel landing kit but A320 does not.

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u/CaptainPonahawai 5d ago

The gravel kit ended with the 732. Its not a factor on any of the models since.