Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
737-MAX8
This is the aircraft that carried over one hundred of us to LAX – Los Angeles’ international and very busy airport. The aircraft looked brand new, and in the seat pockets in front of us was a HELLO card with bright yellow letters to welcome us on board. Something about the card prompted a question in my mind about whether or not this was the Boeing model that had two unfortunate malfunctions shortly after it was first released for flight around 2018.
By the time this issue popped up for me we were airborne and my phone was in airplane mode. Without internet I could not search for the answer. I released my question into the ether and thought instead about this plane carrying me to see people I love. By the time we arrived in LA, I had forgotten all about it. Instead I concentrated on finding the “Arrivals” sidewalk and looked for Ted and his completely rebuilt vehicle. Even at that late hour, traffic around the airport was moving at a very sluggish pace. We found each other right away and I got a hug from my tall and handsome son.
Once we got out of LAX it was smooth sailing. The freeway, which is a parking lot during daytime hours, was empty and we cruised along. I’m trying to remember when Ted and Sarah moved to LA and I think it’s been at least four years. They are now Californians. Ted will finish his PhD here and start the job search. Sarah is quite successful at her workplace, The Getty Museum. When responses come to Ted’s applications, they will have to weigh whether or not Sarah’s place at the Getty will keep them here, or whether any of Ted’s offers warrant making a move. It will be one of those decisions that requires a lot of thought and discussion.
It was after midnight when I finally got checked in to my hotel room. By my Saint Louis body clock it was verging on 3:00 AM. Since I am a gifted sleeper, I quickly entered dreamland and slept for 6 restful hours.
Sarah has to work today, so it will be Ted and I hanging out. What a delightful prospect that is!
But the question about the 737-MAX8 woke up with me. Off I went to Google to discover that my hunch was right. Over 340 people were killed in the two malfunctions – one with an Indonesian airline as well as an Ethiopian airline. In trying to understand how this normally very safe mode of travel became deadly I learned that a new kind of software was installed in the planes. Boeing issued a warning in a bulletin: “Erroneous angle-of-attack data could result in uncommanded nose-down movement of the aircraft and this action can repeat until the related system is deactivated.” However, this bulletin was not released until after the fatalities.
Boeing lost billions of dollars in sales when the FAA and other countries grounded the planes from March, 2019 to December 2020.. Public outcry was enhanced when it was discovered that the company’s own engineers and test pilots knew about the problem well before the crashes, but that knowledge was not shared with the FAA, airlines, or pilots. To me this begs the question of how Boeing remains in business and continues to rake in billions in sales – now that whoever pilots this aircraft has been taught how to disable the command to lower the nose of the airplane.
Boeing expressed its sympathies to the families of the victims. The company paid billions of dollars in fines. The fact remains that the company “knowingly concealed the existence and the risks of the newly introduced flight stabilization system.” (Wikipedia). Questions still remain about the relationship between Boeing and the regulators that approve newly developed aircraft.
The older I get the more I believe in the adage to “follow the money”. Boeing stood to make a greater fortune than usual through sales of what appeared to be a popular aircraft. A Texas court ruled in October of 2022 that the people who died in the two crashes are legally considered crime victims. That is no consolation to their families. And Boeing’s stock? It is not quite back to the level pre-pandemic. According to “The Motley Fool” newsletter, “The company got a boost in December with the reopening of China and word of a planned 737 production increase.” Follow the money, indeed.