No software app is going to fix Boeing's fatal 737 Max. Why? The answer is relatively simple: it has a flawed design, a matter of physics not software. Of course the company is not going to admit that because it would have to withdraw the flawed aircraft from service at huge expense. Easier to hoodwink a captured federal agency than spend money making an airworthy jetliner.
In its rush to compete against Airbus' new short range hauler, the company decided to modify its existing workhorse 737 rather than design a new aircraft from scratch. This approach would save Boeing time and money, including retraining pilots for a totally new aircraft. Some attribute this penny-pinching approach to Boeing's takeover of McDonnell-Douglas, which caused a corporate culture shift at Boeing. One problem though: the bigger turbofan engines would not fit under the 737's low wing configuration, so the engineers moved the engine up to mid level. This allowed ground clearance, but the altered engine position on the wing made the aircraft prone to stalls on take off. The Max problems were so obvious that company employees ridiculed management and laughed at the FAA. One employee wrote during the plane's certification process, "this airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys." Later, two 737 Max planes crashed killing hundreds of passengers. Watch this six minute video from Vox which explains the problem:
The Lion Air 610 crash, which killed 189, has been investigated by Indonesia's air safety agency. Its final report concludes that the 737 Max needs design changes among nine contributing factors including the malfunctioning automated flight attitude system (MCAS). The Max has been grounded for 10 months while Boeing attempts a work around for a fundamentally flawed planet. Dennis Muilenburg, who led Boeing during the 737 Max fiasco, was recently fired by the company. He will walk away with $62.2 million in pension and stock. Res Ipsa Loquitor.