737 MAX's problems aren't inherent to the design, and could be fixed.
Correct, the problems are inherent to the
company and can only be fixed with a couple of suits' heads rolling.
Ok well first off, "hydraulic failure" is not mentioned in that article, but let's move on.
veering down the runway without its landing gear deployed
Interesting.
Photos of the smoking wreckage showed only the plane’s charred tail intact
Even without the gear down, there's some yaw control authority from the tail at high speeds, and you're gonna stop reasonably fast with your whole belly down. It would have to go really wrong really fast.
The pilot issued a mayday alert about two minutes before the crash
Interesting, and no go around? If it was JUST a gear situation, they'd likely call pan pan and fly by the tower for visual confirmation, then go around and decide what to do, while burning some fuel such that the emergency crews have an easier time of it if the landing goes poorly.
Still, it was ALL gear not down, not just one, so that's interesting.
the airport’s control tower warned the plane of a potential bird strike minutes before the crash
A cursory search doesn't turn up any South Korean birds that are particularly large, perhaps it was a huge flock. That could cause engine issues, maybe a compressor stall or something. That still wouldn't be a mayday followed by a gear up landing and death of almost everyone aboard in two minutes though.
ruled out the possibility of poor aircraft maintenance playing any role
Important.
one of the flight’s two surviving crew members told rescuers that an engine began smoking after a suspected bird strike, before exploding.
Engines don't
explode after a bird strike. It's not mentioned whether the surviving crew members were pilots or not. If this was a bird strike, it was either the largest birds ever, or the worst handling of the situation.
I'll find out in six years on Mentour Pilot, Pilot Debrief, or Green Dot Aviation, I suppose.