A former Boeing engineer said he “wouldn’t have any concerns” about flying the 737 Max despite ongoing scrutiny and safety concerns surrounding the plane and the company.
The planemaker has been trying to reassure passengers and airline customers for months that its planes are safe after a new 737 Max 9 airliner was forced to an emergency stop in January after a cabin panel exploded in mid-air.
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident, which could expose the company to criminal prosecution and further shake public confidence in the company.
But Mark Paskowitz, a former Boeing employee who spent three-and-a-half years at the heart of the engineering program in California, said. I He “wouldn’t have had any concerns” about flying on a Boeing plane and “didn’t even think” about fearing for his safety.
“I have a couple of trips coming up and I haven’t even checked what type of plane I’m on,” said Mr. Paskowitz, who lives in London and now works in finance.
“These are still rare events,” the 52-year-old insisted. “Anything greater than zero is beyond our expectations, but I didn’t even think about checking which plane I was going to be on.”
Amid concerns about aircraft safety, Boeing said it had taken steps to strengthen its quality inspection process.
CEO Dave Calhoun said Boeing has “more work to do” as it works to repair its reputation and “earn the trust of stakeholders.”
The aerospace giant operates a duopoly, supplying more than 40% of the world’s commercial aircraft, with Airbus being its only larger competitor.
The former engineer, who spent most of his time working in the defense, space and security sectors, speculated on the cause of a series of problems with Boeing’s final products, saying the problems “could” be attributed to the talented and experienced employees Boeing employs. Leaving the company or retiring in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Paskowitz, who left the company in 2000, said the aerospace industry’s workforce was initially forced to shrink after the end of the Cold War before “significant reforms” allowed the industry to grow rapidly again. He speculated that many of those employees had left the company and reduced the talent pool.
Peter Lemme, a Boeing engineer for 16 years, has the same theory. Lem said the behemoth is undergoing a generational shift as older engineers approach retirement.
he told before I: “Learning, expertise and judgment…are disappearing…if you bring people in who don’t have the same level of experience…flaws and weaknesses in the process are exposed.”
Mr Lemme said waves of layoffs during the pandemic and since the 1990s may have caused some of the problems.
“You can’t just lay off 1,000 manufacturing employees without it having a significant impact on your product and quality. This is not to discredit those who are new and motivated, but they don’t necessarily get the training they need,” he claimed.
At the same time, Mr. Paskowitz said some of the company’s recent failures may be because the IT industry absorbs much of the engineering talent.
However, he believes that may now be reversing as companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic reignite interest in the aerospace industry.
“A nation has many ruins,” Mr. Paskowitz said, quoting the 18th-century economist Adam Smith as he reflected on Boeing’s current situation and whether the aerospace giant would ever recover. The Scottish economist used the phrase to claim that countries can often cope with bad policies.
“It’s definitely a concern,” Mr. Paskowitz said, “but is it fatal? I would be surprised.”
Another former Boeing engineer whose name I has agreed to retain it and said he is also willing to soar in the sky on the 737 Max.
The 24-year-old, who has worked as a software engineer at Boeing in the Indian state of Karnataka for nearly two years, said flying on the Boeing 737 was “very comfortable”.
He said he had spoken with engineers “who work on 737 electronics” and despite previous problems, he said he was very confident they would be corrected.
“I would fly on it. But I understand the world’s concerns,” said the former engineer, who now lives in London.
“When I look at the data on the 737, right, there are about 400, 500 flights that are doing their job perfectly throughout the day,” he continued, “and I see that they’re operating just fine almost every time.”
The 24-year-old, who left Boeing last August to pursue further academic studies, looked back on his time at Boeing and said: “The management and everything was outstanding.
“The quality has always been good and management is attentive to making sure the product is always delivered correctly. If there is a problem, it is always corrected immediately.”
A Boeing spokesman said this week: “Based on the FAA’s audit, our quality requirements and the recent expert panel report, we continue to immediately implement changes and develop a comprehensive action plan to enhance safety and quality, Build confidence in our customers and their passengers.
“We are focused on taking transparent, significant, proven action every step of the way.”
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