Fatal Design : The Boeing 737 MAX, Two Crashes, and the Most Consequential Aviation Scandal of the Modern Era
Overview
Two brand-new airplanes. Two catastrophic crashes. 346 lives lost. One system at the center of it all.
On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea just minutes after takeoff.
Less than five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after departing Addis Ababa.
Both aircraft were Boeing 737 MAX 8s. Both accidents involved the same flight-control system: MCAS - the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System.
Fatal Design investigates the two disasters and the technical and organizational failures that surrounded them.
The book examines:
- The final minutes of Lion Air Flight 610
- The final minutes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
- How the 737 MAX differed from earlier 737 models
- Why MCAS was introduced
- How Angle of Attack sensors affected the system
- How erroneous sensor information could trigger repeated nose-down trim
- The pilots' responses to the increasingly difficult situations
- Boeing's design and development decisions
- The certification process and regulatory oversight
- What investigators discovered after the crashes
- How MCAS was redesigned
- The changes made to pilot training, procedures, and certification
- The wider lessons for aviation safety
This is not a fictionalized crash story.
Based on official accident investigations, regulatory documents, government investigations, and other documented sources, Fatal Design focuses on the evidence behind the two crashes and explains the technology in a way that aviation enthusiasts and general readers can understand.
Two flights. Two crashes. One aircraft system that changed aviation forever.
This item is Non-Returnable
Customers Also Bought
Details
- ISBN-13: 9798194691661
- ISBN-10: 9798194691661
- Publisher: Independently Published
- Publish Date: August 2026
- Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.41 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.45 pounds
- Page Count: 164
Related Categories
