Boeing shares experienced a drop on Monday following another incident that has raised concerns about the aircraft manufacturer’s quality control. During a recent flight, one of Boeing’s planes was forced to make an emergency landing after a piece of its fuselage broke off mid-flight. While alarming, this development did not come as a surprise to industry watcher Ed Pierson, a former senior manager for the Boeing 737 program. Pierson, who previously testified against Boeing at a Congressional hearing after two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed in 2018 and 2019, stated, This was no surprise, unfortunately. I know it is stunning for passengers, but for those of us who have been monitoring what’s been going on for a while with the Max, it really wasn’t a surprise. Pierson highlighted the company’s ongoing struggle with manufacturing and the numerous production quality defects it has faced.
This incident, involving a Boeing 737 Max 9, comes at a time when Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is aiming to rebuild the company’s reputation and capitalize on the surge in aircraft demand. Furthermore, the company is seeking permission to resume deliveries of its 737 Max aircraft to China, the largest aircraft market worldwide. However, the grounding of over 170 Boeing Max 9s by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration puts a dent in these plans.
The harrowing incident on Alaska Airlines flight 1282, which witnessed passengers waiting anxiously for the plane to land safely after the fuselage incident, is now circulating on social media. Boeing issued a statement expressing regret for the impact on customers and supporting the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of affected airplanes. However, Pierson believes the core problem lies in the company’s rush to produce planes, stating, Inside the factories there is a phrase they call ‘schedule is king.’ So even though the company speaks about the quality of their planes and the importance of that, what the employees are hearing on the factory floor is ‘get your jobs done, finish your work, get done as fast as possible, move to the next plane.’
As Boeing strives to rebuild trust within the industry, incidents like this create further obstacles. With 1,370 737 MAX jets currently in service globally, the focus on quality control and ensuring passenger safety remains imperative.
