Why the 737 MAX has been such a headache for Boeing

Summary

Why The 737 MAX Has Been Such A Headache For Boeing Wirestock/Getty Images Since it first flew in 1967, the Boeing 737 has been one of the greatest success stories in commercial aviation. With a small, narrow-body (a single aisle between the seats) plane with short- to medium-range, it was perfect for flights of just a few hours in length, which covers the majority of domestic routes. That led to thousands of these aircraft being delivered, making it the most popular plane in the world. In fact, at its peak, nearly a third of all flights were flown with a 737! Sadly, starting with the 2017 launch of the latest generation, the 737 MAX, it's all gone nose-down. Production and sales have plummeted, allowing rival Airbus to eclipse it with their A320 range. The company is also embroiled in legal troubles, and worst of all, there have been multiple mid-air disasters — some of them fatal. What happened? The simplest explanation is the same one that plagues many companies: Boeing wanted to cut costs. Eventually, that mentality led to bad decisions, rushed designs, and slashed safety budgets. The results have been, well, terrible. Far from flying Boeing into a new era, the 737 MAX has become the manufacturer's biggest headache. The bill (for being a cheapskate) comes due Laser1987/Getty Images The MAX's biggest innovation over earlier 737s was its improved engines, with better fuel efficiency and range. However, those engines were also physically larger, so large that, placed under a 737's wings, they would have scraped against the ground. Really, Boeing should have built an entirely new plane to attach them to, but that apparently would have been too expensive. So instead, Boeing decided to just keep using the same old 737 airframe but mount the engines forward of the wing rather than under. This design decision had one extremely important consequence — it unbalanced the plane. Boeing devised a software solution for this, a system that would automatically make flight adjus...