a thoughtful explanation of what lead to the latest accident involving a Boeing aircraft:
We often use the word “iconic” to describe companies such as Xerox, U.S. Steel and General Electric when we really mean “no longer great.” And Boeing no longer is.
Boeing has labeled the Alaska Air incident a “quality escape,” as if someone’s pet got loose in the cargo hold. Quality jailbreak is more like it, one that has been tied to the company’s increasing reliance on outsourced work over the past two decades — in this case, Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the 737 Max fuselage. Once part of Boeing, Spirit was formed in 2005 as a component maker and counts both Boeing and Airbus — Boeing’s chief competitor — as customers. Spirit has said that it remains “focused on the quality of each aircraft structure” and will assist with the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the flight.
Opinion piece written by Bill Saporito
The link below is a gift beyond the paywall and should be accessible to anyone who opens it.
full article here: www.nytimes.com/...