評論
打印
The F.A.A.’s response to the crisis has also come under scrutiny.
聯邦航空局在這一危難時刻的反應也受到了民眾密切的關注。
As authorities in other countries moved quickly to ban the plane following the crash in Ethiopia this month,
本月埃塞俄比亞發生墜機事件后，其他國家的政府都迅速對這一機型下達了禁飛命令，
the American regulator held off.
美國的監管機構卻遲遲不見行動。
The F.A.A. has been run by an acting administrator, Daniel K. Elwell, since January 2018.
自2018年1月以來，聯邦航空局一直由代理局長丹尼爾·K·埃爾韋爾管理。
President Trump on Tuesday picked a former Delta Air Lines executive, Stephen Dickson, to become the permanent head of the agency.
周二，特朗普總統轉而指定達美航空公司前高管斯蒂芬·迪克森為該局的永久負責人。
Before a new plane can fly,
一架新飛機能飛行之前，
the F.A.A., in partnership with manufacturers, assesses the technology, design and components that make up the jet.
聯邦航空局都要協同制造商對這架飛機的技術、設計及零部件做出評估，
They look for potential safety issues that could affect the airworthiness of the plane.
查找潛在的，可能影響飛機適航性的安全問題。
The investigations into the crashes are ongoing,
針對兩起事故的調查仍在展開，
but the similarities between the two doomed flights suggest
但兩架失事飛機的相似之處表明，
potential problems with the new software system, known as MCAS.
這款名為“MCAS”的新軟件系統存在潛在的問題。
In the case of the Lion Air crash in October,
10月份獅航墜機事件中，
the automated system may have engaged based on erroneous data,
這一自動系統可能就執行了錯誤的數據，
creating a struggle for the pilots who were trying to maintain control.
繼而給試圖控制飛機的飛行員制造了不小的困難。
But the software — powerful as it was —
然而，這一軟件——盡管它很強大——
did not emerge as a major focus for the F.A.A. regulators who certified the Max as safe to fly in 2017,
在2017年聯邦航空局的監管人員對該飛機進行安全認證時并沒有成為他們的重點審查對象，
according to the people involved in the effort who were not authorized to speak publicly about the process.
據參與了那次監察活動，但沒有授權可公開談論具體過程的知情人士透露。
The software did not elicit what are known as special conditions,
該軟件沒有觸發所謂的“特殊條款”，
usually applied to a novel feature that requires additional regulations before it can be certified as safe.
這些條款的適用對象通常為需要補充額外規定才能完成安全認證的新特性。
The plane’s non-rechargeable lithium batteries, for example, fell into that category.
如，該機型上的非充電鋰電池就屬于這一類特性。
Because the system was not flagged as especially noteworthy, senior F.A.A. officials were not even aware of it,
因為該系統沒有被做上特別值得注意的標記，所以聯邦航空局的高層對這一系統甚至都不知情，
according to the people involved in the effort who were not authorized to speak publicly about the process.
據參與了那次監察活動，但沒有授權可公開談論具體過程的知情人士透露。
Instead, it was only lower-level F.A.A. officials involved in the certification process who were even aware of MCAS.
反而只有直接參與了認證過程，級別較低的官員才知道有“MCAS”這一系統的存在。
The system was intended as a safety feature
該系統原本要充當一個安全裝置，
to make the 737 Max, which included significant design changes, fly like earlier models.
讓做出了多項重大設計改變的737 Max機型能像之前的機型一樣飛行。
The new, more efficient engines on the 737 Max were larger and placed in a different location than previous generations.
因為737 Max所用的效率更高的新型發動機沒有放在之前幾代機型發動機所放的位置。
To compensate for the new aerodynamics, Boeing installed the software,
為了彌補這一調整將帶來的空氣動力學影響，波音公司才安裝了這一軟件，
which would force the nose of the plane down in certain circumstances.
該軟件會在一定情況下迫使飛機的機頭下墜。
The goal was to help avoid a stall.
其目的是為了幫助避免飛機失速。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
