Boeing, Not Pilot Error, Is to Blame for Crashes
Styron Powers, Harvard Advanced Management, Rutgers MBA
Financial Literacy Advocate Helping You Build a Stronger Financial Future
The company expected uninformed and unsuspecting pilots somehow to solve the problems of an unknown and misfiring MCAS.
ABoeing 737 tail fin and a Boeing 737 MAX winglet in Paris, July 8. Photo: julien de rosa/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
It is disappointing to see Holman Jenkins, Jr. continue to claim that pilot error caused two fatal Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes (“Boeing’s ‘Culture’ Needs Profits ,” Business World, Aug. 10). Simply repeating something doesn’t make it true.
Several investigations found that the crashes were due to a design flaw in the airplane’s maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS). This faulty MCAS system activated repeatedly and forcefully in both crashes, leaving the pilots desperate to regain control of their aircraft. In the 2018 crash in Indonesia, the pilots weren’t even aware of the existence of MCAS. In the Ethiopian crash five months later, the pilots had merely received a bulletin from Boeing that contained minimal information.
Boeing’s poor human-systems integration practices, testing and evaluation contributed to a bad design that caused complexity and induced uncertainty in piloting tasks. Boeing expected uninformed and unsuspecting pilots somehow to solve the problems of an unknown and misfiring MCAS.
In the wake of continuing MAX 8 incidents, a Federal Aviation Administration expert panel, of which we were members, published a report on Boeing’s safety management system. It found a continuing “disconnect” in Boeing’s safety culture. This is unacceptable. The American flying public deserves better.
Javier de Luis, Ph.D.
MIT Department of Aeronautics
Cambridge, Mass.
Mr. de Luis’s sister, Graziella, was on board Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 when it crashed.
Prof. Najmedin Meshkati
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Los Angeles
Appeared in the August 15, 2024, print edition as 'Boeing, Not Pilot Error, Is to Blame for Crashes'.
Chief Pilot at Aperture Aviation
3 个月Are you implying that diverse pilots cannot be competent? It seems no matter the pilot, competency comes from superior training and evaluation from within the company along with a strong and just safety culture.
Inventory Planner | Highline Warren | Helping companies stock the right products at the right time at the right price! ??
3 个月Boeing started down their path of failure & incompetence when they stopped listening to their Engineers & started being run by their no-nothing bean-counters.
Financial Literacy Advocate Helping You Build a Stronger Financial Future
3 个月United Airlines CEO?Scott Kirby?says they want “50%” of their hires to be “women or people of color. This is his stated focus and priorty. A diverse group of competent pilots is an outstanding goal. Quota systems do not yield competency.
Executive Producer and editor
3 个月The article reposted here by aeronautics and engineering professors makes no mention of diversity. Is there an evidence base for your implication that a more diverse pool of pilots is less competent?