2019年经济学人 波音和FAA:亲密之罪(1)

 

America's aircraft-safety regulator has been the industry's gold standard since it was set up in the 1950s.

自20世纪50年代成立以来，美国飞机安全监管机构一直是这行业的黄金标准。

When the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) called out an aeroplane as unsafe, counterparts around the world followed its lead.

当美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）宣布某一飞机不安全时，其全球同行也将照做。

That changed after a Boeing 737 Max jetliner crashed in Ethiopia on March 10th, killing¹ all 157 on board,

但这一现象在两起空难后发生了变化。3月10日，一架波音737Max喷气客机在埃塞俄比亚坠机，机上157人全部遇难，

five months after the same model went down in Indonesia in apparently² similar circumstances.

5个月后，在明显相似的情况下，同一机型飞机在印尼坠机。

The FAA grounded it only once all other big regulators around the world had done so.

但FAA在全球所有其他大型监管机构停飞该机型后才宣布停飞。

A week on, analysis of the black box recovered in Ethiopia suggests "clear similarities" with the Indonesian accident,

对埃塞俄比亚空难黑匣子的分析表明这起事故和印尼事故存在“明显相似性”，

the country's transport ministry³ said on March 17th. This raises questions about the FAA's certification of the plane.

该国交通部于3月17日表示。这就引发了有关FAA对该飞机进行认证的质疑。

On March 17th the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice had launched a probe into the MAX's development.

3月17日，《华尔街日报》报道称司法部已对MAX的开发进行调查。

Two days later the transportation secretary began an audit⁴ of the aeroplane's certification process.

两天后，交通部长开始了对该飞机认证过程的审查。

What went wrong? Jon Ostrower, an aviation writer, points to Boeing's decision in 2011 to put a new fuel-efficient engine on an earlier version of the popular 737.

什么地方出了问题？航空作家Jon Ostrower指出波音公司在2011年决定在热门737的早期型上安装一种新的节能引擎。

Airbus, its European arch-rival, was also planning to do the same on its competing narrow-body jet, the A320.

其欧洲劲敌空中客车公司也打算这么做—在其竞品窄体飞机A320上采取相同措施。

But although there was plenty of room under the A320 to fit these wider engines, the squatter⁵ 737 had less space.

但虽然A320飞机底部有足够的空间可以安装这些更宽的引擎，但是又宽又矮的737没有那么多的空间。

Boeing decided⁶ to mount the engine further forward instead, making the plane less aerodynamically stable.

波音决定将引擎放到更前端的地方，因此飞机在空气动力性上缺乏稳定性。

To improve stability, Boeing installed software called MCAS.

为了提高稳定性，波音安装了一款名为MCAS的软件。

This allowed pilots who were certified⁷ for the older 737 to fly the new version without getting a new licence.

这款软件能让驾驶老版737的飞行员无需取得新执照就能驾驶新机型.

Boeing did not mention MCAS in instruction manuals before the Indonesian crash, the Seattle Times reported.

《西雅图时报》报道称，在印尼坠机前，波音没有在操作工序说明书中提到MCAS。

Investigators⁸ think that MCAS may have contributed to that accident.

调查人员认为MCAS可能促成了那次事故。

Boeing continues to have "full confidence" in the 737 MAX's safety. While investigations⁹ continue, it says,

波音仍对737MAX的安全性充满信心。虽然调查还在继续，其表示，

"Boeing is finalising its development of a previously¹⁰ announced software update

“波音先前宣布的一款软件升级开发

and pilot training revision that will address the MCAS flight control law's behaviour in response to erroneous sensor¹¹ inputs¹²".

以及飞行员培训修订即将结束，这些将解决MCAS飞行控制律对错误感应器输入做出反应的行为”。

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

5 squatter   

n.擅自占地者

参考例句：

• The squatter settlements originally came into being through illegal land invasions. 违章建筑区最初是通过非法的土地占有而形成的。
• Squatter control is maintained by regular patrols and hut-to-hut checks. 当局定期逐户视察所有寮屋，以收管制之效。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

11 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

12 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网