Ignoring the Boeing bits
Boeing has flown into rough weather again. CEO Dave Calhoun — brought in to revive the aerospace and defence giant in January 2020 from the tailspin of the two 737 Max 8 aircraft crashes in 2018 and 2019 — announced his planned December exit last month. The many pun-laced stories regarding the turbulence enveloping Boeing shouldn't distract from the bleak point that this is just another instance of a giant corporation betraying the trust of the public — and that, sadly, this won't be the last.
As the findings of many investigations and committees conclude — even as the company faces fresh safety scrutiny after a Boeing engineer emerged this week alleging 'major flaws' in 777 and 787 Dreamliners — Boeing may have gotten away with shoddy design of the Max 8. The design was cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as per aircraft certification guidelines applicable at the time. This means no one did anything wrong intentionally. Lack of any criminal convictions thus far also appears to support this conclusion.
Reduced oversight creates a swamp wherein the shady thrive, and even the scrupulous can lose their sense of ethics. Without oversight, even Atlas could be tempted to shrug and drop the heavens he bears on his shoulders.
Prior to this latest issue of a panel blowout, investigations into the Max 8 crashes had already uncovered many lapses at Boeing. These reports, however, fail to answer the basic question: how did Boeing get away without a serious review — either internal or external (via FAA) — of
