A retired Boeing worker, John Barnett, was found dead last week in a hotel car park in South Carolina apparently from a "self-inflicted" gunshot wound. Barnett had testified days before in a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing, claiming that “under-pressure workers had been deliberately fitting sub-standard parts to aircraft on the production line”. Boeing execs have denied Barnett’s claims of corner-cutting, while his family have denied that he died by suicide.
It’s been a wild ride and Boeing has been facing increasing scrutiny over safety issues in the last few years. Fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 claimed the lives of hundreds of passengers and crew. More recently, plane spotters have shared videos of distressing mishaps: a tire falling off a plane during its take-off, landing gear leaking hydraulic fluid and a cargo plane with an engine on fire over Florida.
The causes of some of these incidents are already known. One dramatic episode on a United flight was the result bubble wrap being “ingested” into the engine. Last week, around fifty people were injured during a flight after the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner dropped unexpectedly, throwing passengers to the ceiling. The pilot reported that his instruments had “gone blank” momentarily. “He said for that brief moment he couldn’t control anything and that’s when the plane did what it did.” This incident may be the result of human error and substandard training programs.
In January, a panel on an Alaska Air plane blew out mid-flight prompting the Department of Justice to check whether Boeing complied with settlements made in the wake of previous investigations. Curiously, investigators were told that security footage of the door plug being installed had been overwritten. Documents requested by aviation safety experts were also missing.
This is not the first time Boeing has been accused of concealment. A few years ago, the DOJ said Boeing deceived regulators about changes to the automated flight control system on its 737 Max, which were the cause of two major crashes. Boeing’s stock price has taken a few tumbles a couple of times, but shareholders seem to be sticking with the company. United Airlines have changed their order of Boeing Max 10s but still went with Max 9s, reasoning that safety investigations will delay the certification of newer models. However, financial analysts are certainly not optimistic about Boeing’s future.
For some time now, folks who’ve been keeping score have been suspicious that corporate America’s dogmatic commitment to diversity may be leading to a competency crisis. This is not as crazy as mainstream commentary would have you believe – corporate media freak-outs are often a sign that you’re over the target. Wired breathlessly reported that a “far-right conspiracy theory” posited “without any proof” claims ESG and DEI hiring practices might result in unqualified people being placed in key roles.
Would climate ideologues sabotage their own products to scare people into flying less? Would nefarious forces oversee the demise of an American company in order to bring Chinese replacements? Would the top brass at Boeing ruin its market leadership and bow to expectation of diversity just for financial reward from wealthy investors?
Clearly, the folks at Wired have no imagination.
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