ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Remember the recent LATAM (a Chilean Airline) flight to New Zealand that suddenly plunged a few thousand feet, injuring 50 passengers who were slammed into the ceiling? The mass media breathlessly rushed to report that once again a Boeing plane had a “technical issue.” It was news mainly because it was built by Boeing and was a problem with a different Boeing plane than the 737Max.

But now the truth is coming out. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the so called “technical issue” had nothing to do with the plane design or the manufacturer. It was caused when a flight attendant (who was serving meals in the cockpit) accidentally pressed the switch that caused the pilot’s seat to move in its track, thereby pressing the pilot forward onto the control yoke and causing the plane to dive.

Wonder how quickly the media will retract their rush to judgment?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

DETAILS are not as important as reporting the "NEWS".

Band wagons are popular.

Retraction? Old news , new stuff is available.

Too many people jump to <erroneous> conclusions any more.

Sad, isn't it.

BebuLamar

Recent Boeing wheel lost was a 777 and now nose dive was a 787 both are Boeing flagship planes and so far had very few technical problem due to Boeing design (except the Li-Ion battery problem in the early phase of the 787)

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Consider the problems per air-miles.
Still much safer than a car.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

Hope Jerry reads your post.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Malfunction of meal service device!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

And this will go on for awhile unless United Airlines steals the headlines (5 “incidents” in the last week or so). As I said on the last thread on the subject, it is not in the best interest of the United States to drive Boeing into insolvency. Not only are they our only “large” commercial airline manufacturer now that MD is gone (merged with Boeing), they are also a defense contractor.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Or how quickly the lost exterior skin panel near a wheelwell on a United flight of a Boeing jet that flew from San Francisco to Medford, Oregon on Friday, March 15, will be added to the list of Boeing bashing?

That jet has been in service since 1998, operated by Continental into 2011, and by United since then, according to the early reports.
But hey, it's on a Boeing jet !!, must be more bad news of Boeing.

Reportedly, Boeing statement is they will defer comment on that to United.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Air Stewedesses fault? Jeez! I can't do that in my car. And that didn't cost £25+m

I'll give that the reporting was a bit loose, but that doesn't get Boeing off the hook.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

What if problem(s) are caused by improper maintenance?
Still Boeing's fault??????

I guess ya have to blame somebody.....
Even for the stewardess hitting the seat switch.
Boeing's fault. It's their plane...

Canisdirus

Boeing has way more problems...a single mistake reporting on one problem...is a drop in the bucket over there right now.

I'm sure the WSJ has pointed out how Boeing threw away it's high safety protocols...for profit.

Wasabi

Have read that a short time before the whistleblower was to testify, he was found dead. Have not seen any details on that,

Red6

Yes, there is a lot of Boeing bashing going on recently but much of it may be deserved. First, let me say that I have always been a Boeing supporter and thought they made the best airplanes in the world. However, things changed at Boeing after the McDonnell Douglas merger, and not for the best. Upper management changed and started cutting costs by cutting corners and people. Speed and costs became more important than quality and safety. Boeing management became obsessed with keeping and maintaining the stock prices as high as possible. Their focus shifted from keeping customers happy and safe to keeping Wall Street happy.

This was exposed after the 737 Max crashes. Documents have been released that Boeing knew (and later lied about) the possible dangers with the MCAS system. Boeing knew all along that MCAS could be a problem but hoped they could "update" it and fix the issues while the aircraft was in service. Even after the crashes and Boeing knew that MCAS was at fault, they tried to shift blame to the airline and pilots.

MCAS description or operation was not described or even mentioned in the 737 Max manuals. Pilots and FAA inspectors did not even know it existed. In fact, Boeing employees were forbidden to mention MCAS to anyone outside the company, including the FAA. This was done by Boeing to speed up the certification of the Max aircraft by telling the airlines and pilots that the 737 Max flew exactly like the older 737s and required no additional training, an expensive cost for the airlines. All this has been revealed in released Boeing documents.

The door plug on Alaskan Airlines appears to be much the same. Boeing's first response was to blame its fuselage builders, Spirit Aerosystems, for shoddy build quality and poor quality control. Recently obtained documents now reveal that Boeing itself removed the door plug at its facility in Seattle and failed to reinstall the bolts that held the door in place. It also violated its own quality policies by NOT properly documenting the action of the door plug removal and replacement. Proper documentation would have ensured that an inspection of the reinstallation of the door plug would have taken place and the missing bolts would have been discovered. But this never happened.

Again, I am a Boeing supporter, and I truly hope they get their act together, but when they lie about their operations, and hide problems while not accepting responsibility for their actions, this becomes a huge problem for me. This is especially true when people's lives hang in the balance. These actions tell me they value money or share prices over the lives of the people who fly in and on their airplanes.

Management issues may also be apparent in other Boeing projects. The 777-9, the Air Force KC-46, and the Boeing Starliner commercial spacecraft have all experienced quality issues delaying their deliveries. I am sure regulators and customers of these aircraft are taking a much closer view of Boeing after the recent events.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Anytime you have industry that is self regulating, eventually design or quality control will bite your a$$. It’s just a matter of degree.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Self-regulating?

FAA is not involved?