Great Article. I am an engineer. Boeing was once the shining star of American aviation, with a true safety and quality culture. It a shame that money grubbing CEO's and boards changed all that. I also find it highly suspicious that John Barnett took his own life. I have known men like John (although not John himself), and that option is just not ever in their minds. Whistleblowers are fighters, by definition. The opposite of quitters.
The move to Chicago was it the biggest issue. It was just indicative of the larger corporate culture change that ocurred after the merger with McDonnell Douglas. That culture change is well described in the book Flying Blind. It reversed an excellent engineering-led management team and fundamentally changed the future of Boeing.
The article could mention that the 737 MAX is a bright spot for Boeing compared to its disastrous KC-46 air refueling tanker for the USAF.
Boeing initially lost the bid to Airbus and its MRTT airplane, now fully operational in a number of air forces. But Boeing lobbying got the bid overturned and the new bid was so obviously biased towards Boeing that no other company competed.
Version 1 of its air refueling boom was a disaster and is being replaced with a completely new version 2, so the KC-46 is not yet fully operational.
If you forward to 2:00 minutes into this video from Blancolirio, you will hear the follow up to the lost wheel story which turned out to be a failure of the actual wheel itself, NOT a maintenance procedure gone wrong nor a Boeing problem in any way.
Let’s all do better to be responsible and post accurate information with what actually happened. Please avoid scaring the public with speculation and misleading hypotheses before the facts come out.
I feel this article has strayed away from the typically unbiased presentation given to us readers of the FP.
In addition to Mr. Boyd, the author should have gotten the perspective of a veteran pilot such as Juan Brown from the Blancolirio or Peter from Mentor Pilot found on YouTube.
What you would hear is how amazing the 737 is to fly. Pilots have spent their entire careers flying the 737 and will tell you what a wonderful aircraft it is.
Part of the reason the new version of the airplane has stayed basically the same is because that is what the airlines want and demand. If it were a brand new airplane, airlines would be required to have their pilots undergo long and expensive training on a new type. This allows pilots to take a short differences training course to familiarize themselves with minor changes and get certified to fly the new Max version of the 737 saves a fortune for airlines already operating on a thin margin The fact that the airplane flies so similarly to how the previous generation did, despite being more powerful and more fuel efficient speaks to the robustness of the design.
Mentioning the completely unrelated story of the wheel falling off a Boeing 777 which turned out to be the mechanical failure of the wheel itself, Is more of the sensationalist click bait other outlets have used.
The whistleblower was based in Charleston, which assembles a completely different aircraft in Boeings lineup.
To be clear, I do not think Boeing is without it’s very very big problems that it has created for itself. It has a lot to do to overcome some big problems and restore the confidence in the flying public.
I teach engineering ethics - among other things - for a living, and I have to say the current situation at Boeing promises to be the kind of case study that will still be talked about thirty years from now. Like the Challenger case, it shines a harsh light on the critical importance of organizational culture, and the fundamental difference in mindset between engineers and managers.
The just resigned CEO of Boeing is an accountant! The four stages of corporate life as symbolized by their leadership: 1.) Birth and Rise, the inventor, entrepreneur 2.) Maturity, the MBA, technocrat 3.) Decline, financial expert accountant 4.) Death, lawyers.
Sad and scary. I have sold my stock in Boeing, knowing that the public’s pride in American aviation so many of us felt will take many years (if ever) to restore. It is an indictment of American Capitalism in the 21st Century, as well.
This article is no surprise to anybody involved in the world of product quality. The leadership of today's companies are taught to manage finances first and last.
Look at the Boards of today's companies. How many engineers, quality professionals, manufacturing leaders do you find? Instead, former government officials, academics and retired C-suiters are the ones sitting around the table making big decisions about the direction the companies are to take. This is one of the reasons DEI has taken hold of the cultures of many companies seen as more critical to company health than making great products.
This is equally true of the day-to-day management. They are trained in their MBAs to manage the financials, product quality is somebody else's responsibility. The only time many leaders of today's companies care about quality is when there is a warranty issue that is going to cause financial and reputational pain.
I have been observing this in action for the past 40 years. It is only getting worse as the boomers leave the field and the pampered generations rise to leadership....g.
I must warn the readers about Mr. Nocera's "slight of hand" article. The centerpiece of the article is whistleblower Mr. John Barnett, who worked for 32 years for Boeing and retired in 2017. However, the last seven years (2011 -2017) of his tenure were at the Charleston, South Carolina plant and where Boeing makes 787 airliners only. The 737 MAX airliners are assembled only in Renton, Washington from major parts manufactured in Wichita, Kansas, among other locations NOT including Charleston. Hence, Mr. Barnett has no direct experience with the 737 MAX, which was first announced in August 2011 with assembly starting years later. However, Mr. Nocera is using the 737 MAX issues to claim Mr. Barnett "spoke the truth" when Barnett's knowledge did not extend to the 737 MAX. In particular, he could NOT serve as a witness for 737 MAX issues. Journalist should be careful about "connecting dots" when there is no connection.
Write a companion article on Boeing's military business. Failures starting with the KC-46 with billions in write downs, the T-7A trainer that is now four years late and counting, inability to compete for the strategic deterrent program due to lack of internal investment funds, Air Force One replacement delays and overruns..the list goes on. Counting beans and diverting leadership attention to ESG, DEI and other non-performance measures has a cost on operations.
I want to take another tack. Given that Boeing started designing and building jets in the 1940s we should expect that it isn't quite the same outfit as in the glory days of inventing swept-wing jets. Things in this world are born, grow to maturity, age, and die. So it is with Boeing.
Elon Musk is promising reusable spaceships (just like reusable jet planes). If that works, then it's curtains for Boeing and Airbus and Uncle Tom Cobbley.
Great Article. I am an engineer. Boeing was once the shining star of American aviation, with a true safety and quality culture. It a shame that money grubbing CEO's and boards changed all that. I also find it highly suspicious that John Barnett took his own life. I have known men like John (although not John himself), and that option is just not ever in their minds. Whistleblowers are fighters, by definition. The opposite of quitters.
The move to Chicago was it the biggest issue. It was just indicative of the larger corporate culture change that ocurred after the merger with McDonnell Douglas. That culture change is well described in the book Flying Blind. It reversed an excellent engineering-led management team and fundamentally changed the future of Boeing.
The article could mention that the 737 MAX is a bright spot for Boeing compared to its disastrous KC-46 air refueling tanker for the USAF.
Boeing initially lost the bid to Airbus and its MRTT airplane, now fully operational in a number of air forces. But Boeing lobbying got the bid overturned and the new bid was so obviously biased towards Boeing that no other company competed.
Version 1 of its air refueling boom was a disaster and is being replaced with a completely new version 2, so the KC-46 is not yet fully operational.
If you forward to 2:00 minutes into this video from Blancolirio, you will hear the follow up to the lost wheel story which turned out to be a failure of the actual wheel itself, NOT a maintenance procedure gone wrong nor a Boeing problem in any way.
Let’s all do better to be responsible and post accurate information with what actually happened. Please avoid scaring the public with speculation and misleading hypotheses before the facts come out.
https://youtu.be/rN256wwVwrs?si=6BKv9AhS_AbVG6SR
Wondering why more in the media missed this detail. Dave Calhoun CEO of Boeing "will leave post at the end of the year" - WSJ.
This is the 2nd Boeing CEO in a row that should have been fired with cause. Gotten zero severance. And (probably) should be in jail.
Instead this POS will get a glide path landing that many of his customers did not get.
Would love to see TheFP call out these disgusting breaches of governance (and the law).
I feel this article has strayed away from the typically unbiased presentation given to us readers of the FP.
In addition to Mr. Boyd, the author should have gotten the perspective of a veteran pilot such as Juan Brown from the Blancolirio or Peter from Mentor Pilot found on YouTube.
What you would hear is how amazing the 737 is to fly. Pilots have spent their entire careers flying the 737 and will tell you what a wonderful aircraft it is.
Part of the reason the new version of the airplane has stayed basically the same is because that is what the airlines want and demand. If it were a brand new airplane, airlines would be required to have their pilots undergo long and expensive training on a new type. This allows pilots to take a short differences training course to familiarize themselves with minor changes and get certified to fly the new Max version of the 737 saves a fortune for airlines already operating on a thin margin The fact that the airplane flies so similarly to how the previous generation did, despite being more powerful and more fuel efficient speaks to the robustness of the design.
Mentioning the completely unrelated story of the wheel falling off a Boeing 777 which turned out to be the mechanical failure of the wheel itself, Is more of the sensationalist click bait other outlets have used.
The whistleblower was based in Charleston, which assembles a completely different aircraft in Boeings lineup.
To be clear, I do not think Boeing is without it’s very very big problems that it has created for itself. It has a lot to do to overcome some big problems and restore the confidence in the flying public.
The systematic destruction of everything that made America the best country in the world.
Once Bean Counters took over, the results were inevitable.
I teach engineering ethics - among other things - for a living, and I have to say the current situation at Boeing promises to be the kind of case study that will still be talked about thirty years from now. Like the Challenger case, it shines a harsh light on the critical importance of organizational culture, and the fundamental difference in mindset between engineers and managers.
I think I’ll be paying a bit more attention to the actual scheduled airplane when I book flights from now on.
The just resigned CEO of Boeing is an accountant! The four stages of corporate life as symbolized by their leadership: 1.) Birth and Rise, the inventor, entrepreneur 2.) Maturity, the MBA, technocrat 3.) Decline, financial expert accountant 4.) Death, lawyers.
Sad and scary. I have sold my stock in Boeing, knowing that the public’s pride in American aviation so many of us felt will take many years (if ever) to restore. It is an indictment of American Capitalism in the 21st Century, as well.
This article is no surprise to anybody involved in the world of product quality. The leadership of today's companies are taught to manage finances first and last.
Look at the Boards of today's companies. How many engineers, quality professionals, manufacturing leaders do you find? Instead, former government officials, academics and retired C-suiters are the ones sitting around the table making big decisions about the direction the companies are to take. This is one of the reasons DEI has taken hold of the cultures of many companies seen as more critical to company health than making great products.
This is equally true of the day-to-day management. They are trained in their MBAs to manage the financials, product quality is somebody else's responsibility. The only time many leaders of today's companies care about quality is when there is a warranty issue that is going to cause financial and reputational pain.
I have been observing this in action for the past 40 years. It is only getting worse as the boomers leave the field and the pampered generations rise to leadership....g.
I must warn the readers about Mr. Nocera's "slight of hand" article. The centerpiece of the article is whistleblower Mr. John Barnett, who worked for 32 years for Boeing and retired in 2017. However, the last seven years (2011 -2017) of his tenure were at the Charleston, South Carolina plant and where Boeing makes 787 airliners only. The 737 MAX airliners are assembled only in Renton, Washington from major parts manufactured in Wichita, Kansas, among other locations NOT including Charleston. Hence, Mr. Barnett has no direct experience with the 737 MAX, which was first announced in August 2011 with assembly starting years later. However, Mr. Nocera is using the 737 MAX issues to claim Mr. Barnett "spoke the truth" when Barnett's knowledge did not extend to the 737 MAX. In particular, he could NOT serve as a witness for 737 MAX issues. Journalist should be careful about "connecting dots" when there is no connection.
Write a companion article on Boeing's military business. Failures starting with the KC-46 with billions in write downs, the T-7A trainer that is now four years late and counting, inability to compete for the strategic deterrent program due to lack of internal investment funds, Air Force One replacement delays and overruns..the list goes on. Counting beans and diverting leadership attention to ESG, DEI and other non-performance measures has a cost on operations.
I want to take another tack. Given that Boeing started designing and building jets in the 1940s we should expect that it isn't quite the same outfit as in the glory days of inventing swept-wing jets. Things in this world are born, grow to maturity, age, and die. So it is with Boeing.
Elon Musk is promising reusable spaceships (just like reusable jet planes). If that works, then it's curtains for Boeing and Airbus and Uncle Tom Cobbley.