John Oliver discusses how Boeing went from being a company known for quality craftsmanship to one synonymous with crashes, mishaps, and “quality escape.” Whatever that means.I'd read about how the McDonnell Douglas management took over Boeing years ago, changing Boeing's corporate culture, but if I had read about them sending The Economist cover with the copulating camels to the original Boeing executives, I'd forgotten about it. Given what's happened since, I agree with John Oliver and his writers that the wrong camel came out on top. The previous Boeing executives weren't the only ones screwed when that happened!
Among the casualties was the 787 Dreamliner. I wondered what happened to the plane and now I know! Another was the 737 Max, which was the subject of an Emmy-nominated documentary I covered in Emmy-nominated documentary 'Escape from Kabul' for the fall of Kabul two years later, Flight / Risk.
The 737 Max turned out to be less wonderful than when I shared a video promoting it in 2016. Even at the time, I called the video, which has since been made private, "Corporate salesmanship and greenwashing." That turned out to be not even the half of it.That was before the door plug fell off the plane, which the monologue I embedded in Colbert and Meyers return from break to take closer looks at politicians saying stupid things about history and science mentioned as "Stephen describes a scary situation on a recent Boeing 737 flight." Now my snarky comment from eight years ago isn't even a third of it or maybe even a quarter! The wrong camels know corporate infighting and stock valuations, but they didn't learn from the company that acquired them how to build a quality aircraft.
That's it for today's exercise in corporate accountability disguised as comedy. Stay tuned for International Women's Day.
In a sane world we'd bring back the guillotine for executives like this. Their carelessness and greed killed hundreds of people -- an outcome they were completely capable of foreseeing when they made the decisions they did.
ReplyDeleteYou and I both know this is not a completely rational, let alone sane, world. The Boeing executives are unlikely to face any kind of criminal prosecution, let alone lose their jobs. The current CEO even has the support of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Reuters reported Airlines group chief backs Boeing CEO to fix safety crisis.
DeleteInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Willie Walsh said that while some in the industry were angry after the blow-out, Calhoun and his leadership team had done well to take responsibility and commit to finding solutions.
"Boeing are taking the right measures. I think they've responded much, much better to this than other events," Walsh told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry summit in Singapore.
"I've heard people say you need a change in leadership. I disagree ... I'm confident that he (Calhoun) will fix it."
Walsh said he didn't expect Boeing's safety problems to result in airlines ordering fewer of the manufacturer's planes or prompt passengers to avoid booking tickets with airlines that use the 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
"Calhoun and his leadership team" are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Thanks for linking to this entry at Link round-up for 10 March 2024 and welcome to all your readers who came here! Also, welcome to my international readers from Singapore, Canada, and the rest of the planet! I appreciate all of you, especially my readers from Singapore, who have provided more than 5,000 page views this past week, more than twice as many as my American readers!
DeleteBy the way, I may have commented too soon when I wrote "The Boeing executives are unlikely to face any kind of criminal prosecution..." WDIV republished an Associated Press story, DOJ opens criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines 737 plane blowout, report says.
The Journal reported that the investigation would assist the Department’s review of whether Boeing complied with a previous settlement that resolved a federal investigation into the safety of its 737 Max aircraft following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on the door panel of the Alaska Airlines plane.
...
Shortly after the Senate hearing, Boeing said it had given the NTSB the names of all employees who work on 737 doors — and had previously shared some of them with investigators.
Then again, maybe not. It looks like Boeing is offering lower level employees to DOJ, which might save the executives above them from prosecution.
That is good news and good information. Let's hope the DOJ doesn't let Boeing limit the scope of who gets investigated for prosecution. This kind of widespread incompetence can only have roots at the top, as Oliver makes clear. The fish rots from the head down.
DeleteThey can't find the records? Yeah, right. Evidently they determined that what was in those records would make them look even worse than failing to provide them would. Somebody needs to get nailed for destroying evidence.
Thanks for including this link in Link round-up for 17 March 2024. I have another for you: Boeing’s embattled CEO is poised to walk away with millions.
Delete[A]t some point, you get to bow out and float toward retirement on your golden parachute, which means — you guessed it — more money.
That’s the dream awaiting Dave Calhoun, the CEO of Boeing, who is preparing to retire after four years at the helm, during which he failed to fix the company’s biggest problems around safety and quality control that burned its reputation with customers.
By the time he steps down at the end of this year, he’ll be 67 years old and poised to collect millions of dollars on top of the many millions he’s already made as CEO.
I guess when I wrote "'Calhoun and his leadership team' are not going anywhere anytime soon," it ended up meaning before he retires at the end of the year. *shrug* I'll still be surprised if he's forced out or indicted before then. We'll see about the rest of Boeing's leadership team.