Boeing crash: What is the safety record of the Boeing 737 following China crash?

Following the Boeing 737 crash in China, look back at the safety record of the most popular commercial aircraft in history.
The greener, cleaner Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” aircraft in action in the skies.The greener, cleaner Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” aircraft in action in the skies.
The greener, cleaner Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” aircraft in action in the skies.

Boeing have sold well over 15,000 of the 737 engines, making it the highest-selling commercial aircraft in history.

Despite its popularity, Boeing has faced issues with safety around one of its most recent versions of the engine, with the Boeing 373 Max being grounded between March 2019 and December 2020.

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On March 21st 2022, a Boeing 737 was involved in another crash, this time in China carrying 133 people.

Boeing 737 MAX airplanes from TUI Airways parked at a Boeing facility adjacent to King County International Airport, known as Boeing Field, on May 31, 2019 following the worldwide grounding. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images.Boeing 737 MAX airplanes from TUI Airways parked at a Boeing facility adjacent to King County International Airport, known as Boeing Field, on May 31, 2019 following the worldwide grounding. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images.
Boeing 737 MAX airplanes from TUI Airways parked at a Boeing facility adjacent to King County International Airport, known as Boeing Field, on May 31, 2019 following the worldwide grounding. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images.

Here’s a look at the safety record of the Boeing 737 and the MAX variant in particular.

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What is a Boeing 737?

The Boeing 737 is a twin-engine plane that first took to the skies in February 1968.

The design was influenced by the Boeing 707, another commercial aircraft, with the same fuselage cross-section, accommodating six seats abreast, and nose profile.

What flies today is the fourth generation of the original design, but there are still some in circulation dating back to the early 1970s.

Age is not an indication of safety, due to the high standards of maintenance that commercial planes need to pass.

People can recognise these older designs by their slimmer engines.

What is the safety record of the Boeing 737?

Boeings have been involved in several high-profile accidents over the last few years aside from the most recent one in China.

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Since 2000, there have been 74 incidents involving Boeing planes, including 13 fatal ones with the most recent generation design.

However, it’s important to note that being involved in such incidents does not make a plane inherently more dangerous.

The most recent generation of Boeing 737s have flown 12.5 million safe flights for every fatal crash.

In fact, Boeing 737’s closest competitor, the Airbus A320 had an identical safety record according to data from the end of 2019.

Nonetheless, the incidents tend to have an impact on the reputation of Boeing, with the most recent crash in China triggering an 8% share price drop on March 21st.

Safety record of Boeing 737 MAX Variant

Most notably, two incidents in particular triggered a worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX.

The Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29th, 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, both 737 MAX 8s, both crashed shortly after take-off, killing everyone on board both planes.

Aviation authorities around the world grounded the aircraft in response between March 2019 and December 2020.

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The 737 MAX first began flying commercially in 2017 and shares much of the same design as the original one.

However, a key difference is that the MAX has quieter and more efficient engines, mounted further forward on the plane, closer to the front of the wings.

This posed aerodynamic problems in “unusual flight conditions”.

To solve this, Boeing installed special software called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) to “provide consistent handling qualities”.

Following the controversy around the two crashes, it was revealed that the Federal Aviation Administration in the US was not made fully aware of this new system.

As a result, in January of 2021, the US Department of Justice found Boeing guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States over the 737 MAX certification, for which they had to pay over $2.5 billion (USD) in penalties and compensation.

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