Grado de dificultad: 3 (Por el idioma).

Columnista: Roberto

The saga of Boeing 737 Max 8 disaster goes on. I just fetched the following article, in the Washington Post:

Boeing will halt 737 Max production in January as FAA reviews software fix

This looks awfully familiar to me.

A known scheme

A personal experience …

I remember this time, when I was sent to a South American country, to help my corporation to understand a “small issue” they identified in a project they had there.

It was about a metropolitan radio network, for a City Police Department.

They tagged me with a “radio expert” label.

Note: I don’t know what “expert” means, but I do know a thing or two about radio.

I arrived on site, to be briefed about some issue with the radio coverage in this project.

Something seemed to me a little odd with the description they gave me, so I asked a simple question about the map I had in front of me.

The distance from north to south of the city was … 30 Km … Which also meant that from east to west, is was … 15 Km.

OK! So, did I ask, this means around 20 stations or so, right? Could I see a location map of them?

This is when I noticed the silence. Next, I understood why: there were only 4 sites.

… Of a corporate nightmare

My 4 days-trip to South America instantly became a 6 months nightmare. No human power could solve a mess that became the death sentence of the branch I worked for, at that time.

I think that, during those six months, I saw all the dirty tricks that corporate executives can use to avoid being held accountable for a disaster. It included, of course, bribery.

For my misfortune, I am unable to lie, especially not about such an enormity. I am an engineer, not a lawyer.

The only laws I know well are the law of physics, and these cannot be trespassed.

I, of course, became a liability for my company,

A year later, the scandal broke out, leading to indictments and sentences.

Destiny treated me in a far better way: I finally settled in that distant country (the best decision of my life).

A extinction level event?

Failing of conventional tactics

You can guess why I told that story.

In the case of Boeing, and the 737 MAX 8 issue, the scheme is the same, only bigger (much bigger).

I wrote several times already about this shameful example of criminal unconsciousness, because I know it well:

The tactics are identical, with a refinement: since Boeing is a key element of the US economy, it makes virtually any financial analyst a strong supporter of the Boeing escape tactics.

I pretend that they knew from the very start what was happening (surely engineers like me made it very clear).

They also knew that there was no solution to it.

So, they decided to try the denial, at least toward the internal staff.

Outside Boeing Corporation, the attitude was much less tolerant and understanding, because of:

  • the cheating and betrayal toward the FAA,
  • the usual bullying and cowardly accusations toward the pilots
  • the subtle threats toward the flight company (in “you are caught with us in this” mode)

Boeing managed to lock every escape door.

Next phase

As indicated in the Washington Post article, they are reaching a new phase, where lying is no longer possible.

A first visible symptom is the halt of production (AKA there is no more room to park the 400 new planes that no one wants).

A second one is the dismissing of the CEO, Dennis Muilenburg (AKA the game is over).

Now, everyone is starting to realize that Boeing could be in very serious trouble… They are dragging down with them a vast ecosystem, then, further, the whole US economy.

Then who else?

We already know that USA is no longer a reliable beacon. It doesn’t mean that we should rejoice this failure. Not all of us love playing “Monopoly” in the real life, and in USA either.