"The Federal Aviation Administration defers to Boeing just as it does to other manufacturers and airlines for a lot of its consideration. It's very deferential, especially to Boeing. Boeing has tremendous capabilities, knowledge and insight. Over time, the FAA has relinquished more and more of its oversight to designated examiners, designated inspectors, etc., so the FAA defers to Boeing's opinion," Schiavo told Sputnik's Loud & Clear hosts John Kiriakou and Brian Becker.
In addition, Trump criticized "modern planes" on Tuesday, claiming that "complexity creates danger" and that we "need computer scientists from MIT" rather than pilots.
"There are two things glaringly mistaken about what our president said," Schiavo told Sputnik.
"Statistically, every new model of plane, except this one [Boeing 737 MAX 8], has improved safety statistics over time. Modern advancements have done great things to safety statistics… they have actually saved thousands and thousands of lives."
"And second of all, college physics reminds us of ‘once in motion, stay in motion.' The problem with this plane is that it puts the plane on a trajectory that cannot be overcome by human beings. The sheer force of the human body in the cockpit pulling on this aircraft cannot overcome a full, nose trimmed down stop. So, what we have to do is make the planes amenable to the pilots when something goes wrong. The pilots get blamed three-fourths of the time, but we have these systems now where the pilot can be overridden," Schiavo noted.
Airline pilots on at least two US flights have said that engaging the autopilot on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes causes the aircraft's nose to tilt down steeply, according to multiple reports.
After the Lion Air crash, the FAA informed airlines that incorrect inputs from the plane's anti-stall system's sensors could force the plane to adjust its nose downwards, even when autopilot is turned off. According to Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, the anti-stall system was not properly detailed in Lion Air's flight manual.