Boeing crash drives wedge between EU and US aviation authorities
波音危机危及国际航空安全体系
欧盟高官称，埃塞俄比亚航空坠机事件在欧美民航主管当局之间制造了裂痕，导致国际航空安全体系出现“危险的”碎片化。
2019年03月26日 01:04 英国《金融时报》 乔希•斯佩罗 布鲁塞尔 ， 基兰•斯泰西 华盛顿 ， 杨蓓蓓 芝加哥 ， Nicolle Liu 香港报道
The Ethiopian Airlines crash has driven a wedge between European and US aviation authorities, leading to the “dangerous” fragmentation of the international aviation safety system, according to a senior EU official.
欧盟(EU)一名高级官员表示，埃塞俄比亚航空(Ethiopian Airlines)坠机事件在欧美民航主管当局之间制造了裂痕，导致国际航空安全体系出现“危险的”碎片化。
The Federal Aviation Administration’s reluctance to ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 meant that the “golden era” when the US authority was “the beacon” for aviation security had ended, the official added.
该官员还表示，美国联邦航空管理局(FAA)不愿停飞波音(Boeing) 737 Max 8，意味着美国民航主管当局作为航空安全“灯塔”的“黄金时代”已经结束。
Its response had led to a splintering in the global system, the official said, as national authorities separately raced to ground the Max 8, a model which had suffered its second crash in five months, instead of taking a unified global approach.
上述官员称，FAA对坠机事件的反应导致了全球航空安全体系的分裂——各国民航主管当局未采取统一全球对策，而是各自急着停飞Max 8飞机，后者在5个月内发生了两次坠机事故。
“The system was based on trust and the trust has gone,” said the official, who declined to speak on the record because they had not been authorised to do so.
这名官员表示：“这一体系建立在信任的基础上，如今这种信任已经消失。”该官员拒绝公开自己的身份，因其没有被授权发言。
Normally, international aviation bodies would have waited for the FAA, the “lead authority” certifying Boeing’s planes, to ground the Max 8. But after the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed 157 people, China broke ranks and grounded it. The European Aviation Safety Agency soon took the same step.
通常情况下，各国民航主管当局会等待认证波音飞机的“主要当局”——FAA——要求停飞Max 8。但在造成157人死亡的埃塞航坠机事件发生后，中国打破惯例，单方面停飞了该机型。欧洲航空安全局(EASA)很快采取了同样的措施。
US airlines with Max 8s in their fleets continued to fly them, insisting the aircraft were safe until three days after the accident when President Donald Trump tweeted that the FAA was grounding all of Boeing’s 737 Max 8 and Max 9 planes after receiving updated data on the two crashes.
拥有Max 8的美国各航空公司继续让该机型执飞，坚称该飞机是安全的，直至事故发生三天后，美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)发推文称，FAA在收到两次坠机的更新数据后，已要求停飞所有波音737 Max 8和Max 9机型。
There has already been evidence of a shift in the system. The Chinese, being the first to ground the Max 8, were sending “a political message”, the EU official said, that proved they took “safety extremely seriously” as it developed its domestic aerospace industry.
已经有证据显示这一体系在发生转变。上述欧盟官员表示，作为首个停飞Max 8的国家，中国人在发出“一个政治信息”，证明他们在发展本土航空航天产业的过程中“极其重视安全”。
Ian Zheng, a Chinese civil aviation official speaking in his personal capacity, said he had heard scepticism towards the FAA in China’s aviation and aerospace industries, especially among pilots. But he added that he still trusted the FAA as there was no proof that it had lied or hidden anything.
中国民航官员Ian Zheng以个人身份表示，他听到过中国航空航天产业——尤其是飞行员——对FAA的质疑。但他补充说，他仍然相信FAA，因为没有证据表明该机构撒谎或隐瞒任何实情。
Last week Canada expressed its disquiet with the FAA’s certification of the Max 8, suggesting it would not rely solely on the FAA’s validation. Marc Garneau, the minister of transport, said on Monday that Canada would re-examine its original validation of the 737 Max for use in Canada, which was completed after the FAA certified the plane as safe.
上周，加拿大对FAA对Max 8的认证表达了担忧，暗示加拿大将不再只依赖FAA的认证。加拿大交通部长马克•加尔诺(Marc Garneau)周一表示，加拿大将复查对在加拿大境内执飞的737 Max的原始认证，此前的认证是在FAA认证此型飞机安全后完成的。
Boeing’s proposed software fix, mandated by the FAA to come into force in April, would also be examined independently by Canada, he said. On Tuesday its aviation regulator said it would conduct an “exhaustive review” of the anti-stall system known as MCAS.
他说，波音提出的软件修复方案也将由加方独立检查。软件更新由FAA授权，将于4月进行。上周二，加拿大航空监管机构表示，将对被称为MCAS的防失速系统进行“彻查”。
US officials have grown alarmed at some of the stronger statements made by other governments and regulators.
美国官员对其他国家政府和监管机构发表的一些更为强烈的声明开始感到震惊。
One said: “They can return to everyone certifying aircraft themselves if they want to, but the costs would be prohibitive. Also, it adds an element of politics into it. What’s to stop the French, for example, from holding up Boeing aircraft because they want to benefit Airbus?”
一位官员表示：“如果他们愿意，他们可以恢复各国自行认证飞机的做法，但成本将高得难以承受。此外，这其中还有政治元素。比如，有什么能阻止法国人因为想让空客(Airbus)受益而掣肘波音飞机？”
Jim Hall, a former chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board, said: “I am very concerned that the actions of the FAA have essentially called into question the confidence other nations have had in our aviation authorities for decades.”
美国国家运输安全委员会(NTSB)前主席吉姆•霍尔(Jim Hall)表示：“我非常担心的是，FAA的做法从根本上动摇了其他国家几十年来对我国民航主管当局的信心。”
Mary Schiavo, a former inspector-general of the US Department of Transportation, said the FAA’s insistence that the Max 8 was safe even after the second crash and could be fixed with a software update had cost it credibility.
美国运输部前总监察长玛丽•夏沃(Mary Schiavo)表示，FAA在第二次坠机后仍坚称Max 8是安全的，且可以通过软件更新加以修复，此举损害了该机构的公信力。
“It’s utterly ridiculous because no one will trust the FAA’s certifications,” Ms Schiavo said on CNN.
夏沃在CNN上表示：“这荒谬至极，因为没人将会信任FAA的认证了。”
Although disquiet has grown, agencies are publicly supporting the FAA and the current system.
虽然不安情绪在升温，但各国民航主管机构在公开场合支持FAA和现行体系。
EASA said: “Safety is not a race, what matters is that sound decisions are taken based on robust information and technical analysis in order to safeguard the safety of the flying public.”
欧洲航空安全局表示:“安全不是一场竞赛，重要的是要基于可靠的信息和技术分析做出合理的决定，以保障乘客的安全。”
Canada’s regulator noted that the FAA continued to be “the lead airworthiness authority for Boeing products”, adding that Transport Canada worked with the FAA “to ensure that our aircraft certification expectations are met”.
加拿大监管机构指出，FAA仍将是“波音产品的主要适航认证机构”，并补充称，加拿大交通部与FAA合作“确保达到我们对飞机认证的预期”。
Patrick Ky, the executive director of EASA, told the European Parliament’s transport committee on Monday that it would look at Boeing’s upcoming software updates “very deeply, very closely”.
欧洲航空安全局局长帕特里克•基(Patrick Ky)周一对欧洲议会交通委员会表示，该局将“非常深入、非常密切地”关注波音即将进行的软件更新。
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