US aircraft manufacturer in crisis: What’s going wrong at Boeing?

The recent 737 Max accident and its consequences are a disaster for Boeing. Did the manufacturer put profit over safety? Experts see deeper reasons for the US company’s crisis.

Boeing’s workforce meeting a few weeks ago in Renton, Washington state: Company boss Dave Calhoun struggles to compose himself as he describes what went through his head when he saw the first images of the 737 with the large hole in the cabin wall: “All I could think about was what happened to the person who was supposed to be sitting on the seat right next to me. I didn’t know what had happened.”

In fact, no one sat directly at the affected window seat. The 177 passengers and six crew members escaped with a few injuries and a huge shock. But for the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the accident is a disaster – and a setback in its attempt to repair the already badly damaged image of the former world market leader.

Since then, 171 737 Max 9 aircraft have been grounded. And that’s not all: The US aviation authority FAA now also recommended that several airlines take a closer look at their 400 Boeings of the predecessor model 737-900 – because they are traveling with the same “door plugs”, i.e. wall parts that are installed there , where there is actually a door.

Looking for door bolts

But how exactly the accident on Alaska Airline 1281 happened is still unclear. Apparently the “door plug” was not screwed on properly, according to the current status of the investigation. Four crucial bolts that anchor the part in the cabin wall have not yet been found, explained Clint Crookshank, an engineer in charge at the American Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), shortly after the near-disaster. Whether they ever existed at all still needs to be clarified.

Whatever the cause, the accident didn’t surprise aviation expert Ed Pierson – he would have expected much worse, the former Boeing executive told CNN. Pierson has already testified before the US Congress as a “whistleblower”. His accusation: his former employee placed profit over safety. The fitters on the assembly line would be rushed to get as many planes ready as quickly as possible. Quality controls have been scaled back in recent years.

And Pierson is reminded of the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, with a total of 346 deaths: “All the variables that were there before these crashes in 2018 and 2019 are still there. And they’re showing their ugly faces again.”

Quality problems at the production?

For aviation expert Daniel Kwasi Adjekum from the University of North Dakota, the accident is an example of a fundamental problem at Boeing: “The bolts are just a symptom of production, engineering and quality control problems.”

The ongoing investigations by the FAA and NSTB are therefore focusing on what exactly went wrong and where, why no one noticed – and how many types of aircraft were affected.

The “Door Plugs” are manufactured by Spirit Aeoro Systems, a subcontractor in Kansas. The 737 Max 9 was then assembled at the factory in Renton. But the ultimate responsibility for safety lies with Boeing, says Adjekum.

But the company apparently learned nothing from the last crisis. The cause of the crashes of the two 737 Max aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia were software problems that Boeing tried to cover up. The disaster cost the company over $20 billion.

A lot of production is outsourced

“A company that has just experienced a crisis like this would be expected to start from scratch when it comes to leadership, quality assurance and safety,” says Adjekum. “But if something like this happens again a few years later, it reinforces the impression that Boeing is more concerned with financial goals than with safety.”

To some extent, Adjekum believes, Boeing is now taking revenge for a strategy that was introduced decades ago for cost reasons: outsourcing the design and production of many individual parts to subcontractors. Financially that might make sense. But this makes quality control even more difficult.

Airlines are thinking about alternatives

For the expert, the US aviation authority also shares responsibility: because it delegated part of the safety checks to Boeing itself. The company therefore partially certifies the safety of its own aircraft. Adjekum’s hope is that Boeing and the authorities will now learn from the debacle – and that the 737 Max will ultimately be a safer aircraft.

Some existing major customers may not wait any longer: United Airlines boss Scott Kirby said he was disappointed with Boeing and the ongoing problems. Because United is currently not allowed to fly its 79 737 Max 9 aircraft, the company is expecting losses in the coming quarter. Therefore, alternatives to Boeing will be considered when planning new purchases.