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The F.A.A.’s response to the crisis has also come under scrutiny.
联邦航空局在这一危难时刻的反应也受到了民众密切的关注。
As authorities in other countries moved quickly to ban the plane following the crash in Ethiopia this month,
本月埃塞俄比亚发生坠机事件后，其他国家的政府都迅速对这一机型下达了禁飞命令，
the American regulator held off.
美国的监管机构却迟迟不见行动。
The F.A.A. has been run by an acting administrator, Daniel K. Elwell, since January 2018.
自2018年1月以来，联邦航空局一直由代理局长丹尼尔·K·埃尔韦尔管理。
President Trump on Tuesday picked a former Delta Air Lines executive, Stephen Dickson, to become the permanent head of the agency.
周二，特朗普总统转而指定达美航空公司前高管斯蒂芬·迪克森为该局的永久负责人。
Before a new plane can fly,
一架新飞机能飞行之前，
the F.A.A., in partnership with manufacturers, assesses the technology, design and components that make up the jet.
联邦航空局都要协同制造商对这架飞机的技术、设计及零部件做出评估，
They look for potential safety issues that could affect the airworthiness of the plane.
查找潜在的，可能影响飞机适航性的安全问题。
The investigations into the crashes are ongoing,
针对两起事故的调查仍在展开，
but the similarities between the two doomed flights suggest
但两架失事飞机的相似之处表明，
potential problems with the new software system, known as MCAS.
这款名为“MCAS”的新软件系统存在潜在的问题。
In the case of the Lion Air crash in October,
10月份狮航坠机事件中，
the automated system may have engaged based on erroneous data,
这一自动系统可能就执行了错误的数据，
creating a struggle for the pilots who were trying to maintain control.
继而给试图控制飞机的飞行员制造了不小的困难。
But the software — powerful as it was —
然而，这一软件——尽管它很强大——
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年联邦航空局的监管人员对该飞机进行安全认证时并没有成为他们的重点审查对象，
according to the people involved in the effort who were not authorized to speak publicly about the process.
据参与了那次监察活动，但没有授权可公开谈论具体过程的知情人士透露。
The software did not elicit what are known as special conditions,
该软件没有触发所谓的“特殊条款”，
usually applied to a novel feature that requires additional regulations before it can be certified as safe.
这些条款的适用对象通常为需要补充额外规定才能完成安全认证的新特性。
The plane’s non-rechargeable lithium batteries, for example, fell into that category.
如，该机型上的非充电锂电池就属于这一类特性。
Because the system was not flagged as especially noteworthy, senior F.A.A. officials were not even aware of it,
因为该系统没有被做上特别值得注意的标记，所以联邦航空局的高层对这一系统甚至都不知情，
according to the people involved in the effort who were not authorized to speak publicly about the process.
据参与了那次监察活动，但没有授权可公开谈论具体过程的知情人士透露。
Instead, it was only lower-level F.A.A. officials involved in the certification process who were even aware of MCAS.
反而只有直接参与了认证过程，级别较低的官员才知道有“MCAS”这一系统的存在。
The system was intended as a safety feature
该系统原本要充当一个安全装置，
to make the 737 Max, which included significant design changes, fly like earlier models.
让做出了多项重大设计改变的737 Max机型能像之前的机型一样飞行。
The new, more efficient engines on the 737 Max were larger and placed in a different location than previous generations.
因为737 Max所用的效率更高的新型发动机没有放在之前几代机型发动机所放的位置。
To compensate for the new aerodynamics, Boeing installed the software,
为了弥补这一调整将带来的空气动力学影响，波音公司才安装了这一软件，
which would force the nose of the plane down in certain circumstances.
该软件会在一定情况下迫使飞机的机头下坠。
The goal was to help avoid a stall.
其目的是为了帮助避免飞机失速。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
