It's sitting in a field in Bishoftu, Ethiopia— part of the wreckage of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed on March 10, 2019.

目前落在衣索比亞的德布雷塞特，也就是 2019 年 3 月 10 日衣索比亞航空 302 號班機失事的地方。

157 people died.

機上 157 人全數罹難。

This was just a few months after another flight, Lion Air 610, crashed in Indonesia and killed 189 people.

在印尼墜毀，並奪走 189 條性命的獅子航空 610 號班機空難事件也不過是幾個月前的事。

These two flights were operating the same plane: The Boeing 737 MAX 8.

兩架班機都使用同一型號的飛機：波音 737 MAX 8。

And its engine is the key to understanding why this particular plane has caused so many problems.

為理解該班機產生的諸多問題，引擎是背後關鍵。

But there's nothing actually wrong with this engine.

不過，其實引擎沒有任何問題。

In fact, airplane manufacturers raced to put them on their new planes.

事實上，飛機製造商迫不及待將這些引擎裝到新飛機上。

That's where the problem started.

問題由此而生。

The two biggest airplane manufacturers in the world are Airbus and Boeing.

全球最大的兩家飛機製造商是空中巴士 (Airbus) 和波音 (Boeing)。

And they have a fierce rivalry.

它們的競爭十分激烈。

If one of them can offer a better plane, the other could lose a lot of money.

如果其中一家的飛機品質更好，另一家就會損失慘重。

That's exactly what was about to happen in 2010.

這樣的情形在 2010 年就發生過。

Airbus announced that they would update their most popular model, the A320, a single-aisle airplane that services many domestic flights.

空中巴士宣布更新公司最熱門的飛機模型：A320，也就是一架常飛國內線的單走道客機。

You've probably been on one.

你可能有搭過。

For this new plane, Airbus had a big update.

Airbus 為此展開大規模的更新。

It would have a new kind of engine.

引擎將全新打造。

It was much larger than the previous engine, but it would make the plane 15 percent more fuel efficient.

體積比前身大得多，但可以省下約 15% 的燃料量。

And just as importantly, this upgrade wouldn't change the plane that much.

且不需要大幅改造機身設計。

A pilot could walk into the new model, with little additional training, and be on their way.

只需一點額外的訓練，機師就能上路了。

It was called the A320 NEO, and it would save airlines a lot of money.

升級版叫做 A320 NEO，它會為航空公司省下不少錢。

This was a problem for Boeing.

這對波音來說是個難題。

To compete with Airbus, Boeing's obvious move was to upgrade the engine on their single-aisle plane, the 737.

為了和空中巴士競爭，波音最明顯的舉動就是升級其 737 單走道客機的引擎。

But there was one issue.

但有個問題產生。

Here's a sketch of the 737 next to the Airbus A320.

將 737 與 空中巴士 A320 的草稿圖並列對比。

Notice how the 737 is lower to the ground than the A320.

注意看 737 的底盤比 A320 更低。

This meant Airbus could slide a new engine under the wing of their A320.

這表示空中巴士可以把新引擎放到 A320 的機翼下。

But there wasn't enough room under the wing of the Boeing 737.

而波音 737 的機翼下並沒有足夠的空間。

But a few months later, Boeing's product development head had big news.

可是幾個月後，波音產品開發部的主管就宣布重大消息。

He said: "We figured out a way to get a big enough engine under the wing".

他說：「我們想到解決機翼下引擎大小的方法了」。

Their solution was to move up the engine on the wing, so that it would be slightly higher and it would fit on their 737s.

解決方法就是將引擎提高至機翼側面，這樣便能讓引擎稍微變高，使其放入機翼下方空間。

Here's a promotional video of that updated 737 in the air.

以下是更新版 737 的試飛宣傳影片。

You can actually see that the top of the engine is above the wing.

其實看得出來引擎的上蓋是高於機翼的。

Boeing called this model the 737 MAX.

波音稱此模型為 737 MAX。

And just like Airbus with the A320, Boeing said their new plane was so similar to its predecessor that pilots would only need minimal additional training.

如同空中巴士的 A320，波音表示新的飛機和前身非常相似，所以機師只需要一點額外的訓練。

The 737 MAX became the hottest selling plane on the market.

737 MAX 變成市場上最熱銷的機種。

And it helped Boeing keep up with AirBus.

這讓波音追上空中巴士的腳步。

Except, moving the engine up on the 737 had a side effect.

只是將 737 的引擎提高是有副作用的。

When the 737 MAX was in full thrust, like during takeoff, the nose tended to point too far upward, which could lead to a stall.

當 737 MAX 推力全開，如起飛時，機頭會升得太高，進而失速。

This was a problem, because these planes were supposed to behave exactly like the old ones.

這構成了問題，因為這些飛機應該和舊的一模一樣。

So Boeing came up with a workaround.

因此波音想出了一個解決辦法。

Instead of re-engineering the planes, they installed software that automatically pushed the nose downward if the pilot flew the plane at too high of an angle.

公司安裝了一套軟體，而不是重新設計機身。該軟體在飛機往上開的角度太高時，可以自動把機頭往下拉。

They called it the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

其稱之為「機動特性增強系統」(MCAS)。

But because Boeing was selling the 737 MAX as pretty much the same plane as the 737, they didn't highlight the new MCAS system.

然而，由於波音幾乎把 737 Max 當成 737 來販售，所以並沒有特別強調新的 MCAS 系統。

Many pilots only got a two-hour iPad course before entering the cockpit for the first time.

許多機師只接受兩小時的 iPad 課程就直接上戰場了。

And the "training material did not mention" the MCAS software.

而且，「訓練教材裡沒有提到」MCAS 軟體。

In 2018, several American pilots complained to the federal government that the 737 MAX was "suddenly nosing down."

2018 年，數名美國機師向聯邦政府抱怨說 737 MAX「機頭會突然下降」。

On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 took off from Jakarta.

2018 年 10 月 29 日，獅子航空 610 號班機從雅加達出發。

In the flight report, which shows the plane's altitude over time, you can see that the plane was in full thrust during takeoff.

在隨時顯示飛機海拔高度的班機報告中，你可以看到飛機在起飛時推力全開。

But at a certain point, the nose of the plane kept lurching downward.

但到了某一點，機頭會突然不斷往下降。

The pilots couldn't figure out why this was happening.

機師都不明所以。

The captain "asked the first officer to check the quick reference handbook."

機長「叫副機長去確認快速參考手冊」。

They couldn't find the solution.

他們找不到解決辦法。

The pilots continued to fight with the MCAS.

機師繼續與 MCAS 系統奮鬥。

The plane struggled to gain altitude.

飛機則掙扎地往上升高。

Reports show it was likely because the computer was getting incorrect sensor data, pushing the plane toward the earth below.

報告顯示，可能是因為電腦接受到錯誤的感測器數據，促使飛機開往地面。

12 minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed into the Java Sea.

起飛後 12 分鐘，飛機墜落爪哇海。

In the Ethiopia crash, the report shows that the pilots were actually able to disable the MCAS, but it was too late to overcome the malfunctioning MCAS sensors.

衣索比亞空難的報告顯示，機師其實可以解除 MCAS 設定，只是等到要解決失靈的 MCAS 感測器時，一切都太遲了。

For now, nearly every 737 MAX 8 in service has been grounded.

現今，幾乎每架服役中的 737 MAX 都已停飛。

And the Federal Aviation Administration is facing scrutiny over how they rushed this plane through certification.

而《美國聯邦航空總署》因為讓該飛機急於過審的原因，而面臨嚴格審查。

Boeing's response has been to apply a software update and make the MCAS "less aggressive," while also saying they'll increase pilot training on how to turn it off.

波音回覆說要軟體更新，讓 MCAS 「比較沒有侵略性」，也說會增加機師的相關訓練。

This problem started with a company's race to compete with its rival.

問題的產生是由於公司急於和對手競爭。

It pushed them to pretend like their new plane behaved exactly like their old one.

促使公司假裝新飛機和舊的性能一樣。

Even when it didn't.

即使根本與事實不符。