Boeing Employees Mocked F.A.A. and 'Clowns' Who Designed 737 Max

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

Boeing Employees Mocked F.A.A. and ‘Clowns’ Who Designed 737 Max

The company expressed regret at the embarrassing communications it sent to investigators on Thursday, which included a comment that “this airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys.”

By Natalie Kitroeff
Jan. 9, 2020

Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulators and joked about potential flaws in the 737 Max as it was being developed, according to over a hundred pages of internal messages delivered Thursday to congressional investigators.

“I still haven’t been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year,” one of the employees said in messages from 2018, apparently in reference to interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing pilots and other employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max, a plane later involved in two accidents, in late 2018 and early 2019, that killed 346 people and threw the company into chaos.

The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the F.A.A. during the regulator’s certification of the simulators, which were used in the development of the Max, as well as in training for pilots who had not previously flown a 737.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/business/boeing-737-messages.html

[exboyfil]

1. Someone missed the course on emails

Never put these thoughts in the form of an email. I can't imagine mocking a regulatory body in any setting. Our version of these regulatory requirements are always approached with seriousness and concern for the welfare of our customers and the public at large. It is a shame since we have used Boeing for years as a benchmark.

[yonder]

2. Exactly why regulatory agencies with teeth are needed.

To protect people from the interests of profit.

[Historic NY]

3. Boeing and its employees who remain silent...

should hold their heads in shame. The loss of 346 people, billions of revenue from airlines that depended on buying Boeing, the travel industry, countless jobs loss, the pain and anguish alone, they are despicable people worthy of shame, scorn, and a prison sentence. If we had a normal government these people would be hauled in front of a Federal Grand Jury.

[Scarsdale]

4. Unfortunately, this

level of cover-up and incompetency has filled the government, too. All these "acting" leaders of various agencies are not qualified to run an agency. Much like the presidency, the leaders are in it for the $$$$, and perks. We are supposed to simply pay taxes and keep quiet.

[nitpicker]

5. Link to DW

https://www.dw.com/en/boeing-737-max-internal-documents-reveal-staff-mocking-regulators-management/a-51950981

[amcgrath]

6. Boeing clearly has a problem

They just let the CEO go - though with a $60m payout.

The lies and carelessness were already clear. Now we hear that staff were fully aware or the problems and were joking about it.

Whether criminal prosecution is applicable for this sort of corporate malfeasance can be debated.

But Congress should undoubtedly hold a hearing and decide whether Boeing is a company that the government - particularly the military - should be awarded vast contracts