|
The Morning Risk Report: Boeing Crashes Spur Debate Over How Much Pilot Training Is Enough
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
An instructor inside a Boeing 737 flight simulator near Jakarta, Indonesia, last year. Some pilots outside the U.S. can be licensed under a rule that fast-tracks students into the co-pilot seat in as little as 18 months. PHOTO: WILLY KURNIAWAN/REUTERS
|
|
|
Hello. The crashes of two Boeing Co. 737 MAX planes within five months are prompting regulators and pilots to reassess the bare minimum amount of training crews are required to complete before flying the new model. They are also reigniting broader debate across the aviation industry about whether overall experience levels among some crews are adequate when flights encounter trouble.
Keeping costly new training to a minimum was a selling point for the MAX. Pilots that fly a common 737 model needed only a couple of hours of extra education that could be performed on a computer to become familiar with variances between the aircraft rather than spending time in a flight simulator.
[Continued below...]
|
|
|
|
Newly hired U.S. airline pilots must have at least 1,500 hours of flying experience unless they are former military pilots or graduates of colleges and universities with professional aviation programs. That means both pilots in the cockpit are experienced and able to back each other up when things go awry. Carriers have at times sought, unsuccessfully, to reduce the 1,500-hour minimum to head off pilot shortages.
Pilots were never specifically trained, for instance, on the stall-prevention system known as MCAS. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s decision that extra flight-simulator training on the automated system wouldn’t be required for pilots transitioning from older models is an area the U.S. Department of Transportation’s inspector general is looking at, asking that documents related to it be retained, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
More coverage:
|
|
|
|
|
Norwood Jewel, a former UAW vice president, speaking at an auto plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., on Aug. 26, 2016. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
|
|
|
-
A former vice president for the United Auto Workers union was charged Monday with allegedly receiving tens of thousands of dollars in illegal payments from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executives, according to federal prosecutors, the latest in a widening probe into allegations of corruption in the union’s top ranks.
-
A Canadian court has blocked a group of investors from pumping unlimited funds into legacy life-insurance policies, a strategy that some of Canada’s largest financial institutions warned could lead to huge losses.
-
As U.S. officials press China to buy more than $1 trillion in American exports as part a trade deal, computer-chip makers are saying: Count us out. U.S. semiconductor firms say they have told the Trump administration not to include them in any deal that calls for Beijing to step up purchases of American goods and services. Because U.S. production costs are so high, mandatory-purchase quotas would essentially force U.S. chip makers to open new factories in China, these companies say, potentially giving China more control over their production.
|
|
|
|
People look at a Maserati vehicle at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland earlier in March. PHOTO: SERGEI FADEICHEV/ZUMA PRESS
|
|
|
-
Maserati was meant to provide the sizzle in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ brand lineup after the company spun off Ferrari in 2016. But weakening demand in China, a key market, and a consumer shift away from sedans are denting the luxury brand’s performance.
-
Facebook Inc. has been looking to boost its local-news offerings since a 2017 survey showed most of its users were clamoring for more. It has run into a problem: There simply isn’t enough local news in vast swaths of the country. One-third of Americans live in a place where Facebook can’t find enough local news being shared on its service to justify building a localized aggregator for that area, according to data released by Facebook on Monday.
|
|
|
|
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES, BFA
|
|
|
-
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and his allies have publicly speculated about how the National Enquirer acquired racy texts he sent to his girlfriend, including at one point hinting Saudi Arabia or the White House may have been involved. The reality is simpler: The brother of Mr. Bezos’ lover sold the billionaire’s secrets for $200,000 to the Enquirer’s publisher, said people familiar with the matter.
-
President Trump is ramping up pressure on General Motors Co. and its chief executive, Mary Barra, over the recent closure of an Ohio assembly factory, and pressing the company and union leadership to speed up contract negotiations. Mr. Trump, who is scheduled to visit Ohio this week, tweeted over the weekend about the need to reopen the GM factory in Lordstown, Ohio. The plant ended production this month, one of several factories in North America slated for closure by GM, as the car company adjusts to slowing demand for traditional sedans.
|
|
|
|
In an internal memo sent last week, Kevin Tsujihara apologized for “mistakes in my personal life that have caused pain and embarrassment." Mr. Tsujihara is seen above at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 11, 2018. PHOTO: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia said Kevin Tsujihara will step down as chief executive of its Warner Bros. studio, following a report that he had an affair with a young actress and made inquiries about casting her in Warner productions. Mr. Tsujihara oversaw movie and television production—and this month was given more responsibility as part of a broader restructuring by AT&T of its WarnerMedia unit.
|
|
|
|
Goldman’s new diversity targets include hiring more black and Hispanic employees. PHOTO: JUSTIN LANE/SHUTTERSTOCK
|
|
|
-
Managers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will be required to interview two diverse candidates for any open job, a push the firm hopes will change its heavily white, male workforce. The requirement is Wall Street’s version of the “Rooney Rule,” which requires National Football League teams to interview a minority candidate for head coaching jobs, and is part of new diversity targets Goldman rolled out Monday that include hiring more black and Hispanic employees.
-
Marriott International Inc. said Monday it is planning to open more than 1,700 hotels over the next three years. The hotel chain expects to add between 275,000 and 295,000 rooms by 2021, potentially bringing in $400 million in fee revenue.
|
|
|
|
Jorge Masvidal, left, punching Darren Till during UFC Fight Night 147 in London on March 16. PHOTO: MI NEWS/ZUMA PRESS
|
|
|
-
ESPN, a unit of Walt Disney Co., is taking another big swing at mixed martial arts. Ultimate Fighting Championship has struck a seven-year agreement with ESPN for the rights to sell and stream its pay-per-view bouts exclusively on its ESPN+ streaming service, starting in April.
-
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. said Monday it has agreed to acquire Worldpay Inc. for about $35 billion in cash and stock. The deal would create a global giant in payments and back-office financial services in a bid to reach more customers as transactions move increasingly online.
|
|
|
|