"Plane maker Boeing said it is pausing deliveries of some 737 MAX jets ..."

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Plane maker Boeing said it is pausing deliveries of some 737 MAX jets after a supplier used a nonstandard process to install parts #WSJWhatsNow https://on.wsj.com/3zXPO2r

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Voltaire2]

1. Boeing was once a world class company.

It was the hands down leader in commercial aviation. It has managed to cannibalize itself in pursuit of short term profits in a business that requires long term planning, long term investment, and an absolute dedication to quality.

[peppertree]

5. +1

I think you just described modern U.S. corporate history in a nutshell.

It's the kind of hollowing out of a business, for personal gain, you normally mostly saw in 3rd world countries.

[brush]

2. Problem after problem with that plane. It's tarnished Boeing's rep.

[Codifer]

4. It may not be that much a problem with the 737, it is an old design.

The freaking bean counters pushed it past capability in order to compete with the newer design Airbus. Designing a new aircraft would take years.... and the Douglas Aircraft bosses look only at the bottom line and the stock prices.

That was the beginning of the problems at Boeing... that horrid merger with Douglas Aircraft. Douglas had already shown the world what little regard they have for anything but that bottom line.... remember the DC 10 and the faulty cargo bay door which could blow out at altitude, and did in France, killing 350 or so people.

Not Douglas but Ford bean counters figured that it would be cheaper to pay wrongful death lawsuits than it would cost to safeguard the Pinto gas tank to prevent its explosion in a rear end collision. They looked at the bottom line.

Engineers and ONLY engineers should dictate design. NEVER the freaking bean counters.

btw, there are two excellent documentaries on the Douglas/Boeing merger and the 737 Max debacle. I think might be on Prime.

[brush]

6. Again, it's a plane with problem after problem.

The company tried to create a new line of planes by grafting new techniques and features onto an old design, thereby saving the development costs of a new design.

[dem4decades]

3. Hate the plane, I'd rather the Airbus, and that's before all the safety problems.