Current Affairs, Boeing, Thursday, April 16, 2020, at 11:00EDT

Tom Igoe will hold a virtual meeting discuss Boeing. Charlie Goodyear

Discussion Questions:

Has Boeing truly lost its way as a corporate leader in the US, and will it be able to recover? If so, what does the company need to do to change?
Is there a global problem with pilot experience and training? Some people have suggested that the Indonesian and Ethiopian pilots involved in these crashes were part of organizations that were riven with systemic problems – inadequate pilot training and experience, poor aircraft maintenance and record keeping, and lax regulatory oversight
Boeing has long had a reputation for designing its commercial airplanes premised on the notion that they are to be “flown” by experienced pilots who possess “airmanship qualities” and have the ability to think and act independently in the moment like true aviators. Does Boeing need to rethink aircraft design to totally automate the flight process? Does Airbus maintain a different philosophy in its approach to aircraft design and software?
Does the current US system of aviation regulation make sense, or do we need to change the manner of regulation to eliminate conflicts and mitigate exposure to future regulatory lapses?
How do these crashes affect the standing of the US in the world of global commercial aviation and do we need to improve coordination and cooperation among foreign regulatory bodies on aircraft development, real time aviation and safety advisories, and analyses of the causes of crashes?

Readings:

Boeing’s principles and vision, as articulated on its website
New York Times Magazine lengthy and provocative article entitled “What Really Caused the Deadly Crashes,” by William Langewiesche
Detailed and well documented reports from Wikipedia covering (i) the 737 MAX groundings; (ii) the Lion Air crash; (iii) the Ethiopian Airlines crash; (iv) the design and purpose of the critical MCAS software and analysis of its flaws; and (v) the 737 MAX certification process
An article on the emerging friction between US and European aviation regulators
The recent preliminary report of the US House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
The preliminary accident investigation reports from the Indonesian NTSC and the Ethiopian ECAA on the two crashes
Boeing’s recent Securities Exchange Act public filings covering (i) the company’s major risk factors, (ii) Boeing’s exposure to claims and customer payment demands and (iii) the company’s liquidity challenges and new credit facilities
Sample articles in the financial press on the ultimate probable cost to Boeing and an assessment of whether the company has “lost its way”
My correspondence with David Mace, a fellow DMA book group member, on the subject of causation, comparing the Chernobyl accident (as recounted in detail in the book, Midnight in Chernobyl) with the Boeing 737 crashes