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Does all of this Boeing controversy make you want to fly anytime soon?
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have resumed flying their Boeing Max 9 planes that were previously grounded after an incident where a door panel blew out mid-air. While airlines, regulators, and Boeing claim that the planes are safe following an approved maintenance process, critics argue that there are still questions about their safety.
According to the Los Angeles Times, former Boeing senior manager Ed Pierson and former engineer at Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration Joe Jacobsen have spoken out against the Max planes, stating that they would not fly them and that the company needs a cultural change.
“I would absolutely not fly a Max airplane,” said Ed Pierson, a former Boeing senior manager. “I’ve worked in the factory where they were built, and I saw the pressure employees were under to rush the planes out the door. I tried to get them to shut down before the first crash.”
“I would tell my family to avoid the Max. I would tell everyone, really,” said Joe Jacobsen.
Safety experts argue that the blowout is just the latest example of a deeper problem at the manufacturer. The Federal Aviation Administration has allowed Max 9 planes to fly again after undergoing specified inspections and repairs, but some critics believe this is premature. A watchdog group found that airlines had filed more than 1,300 reports to the FAA about serious safety problems on Max 8 and Max 9 planes.
Boeing has promised to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the blowout, but the FAA will not allow Boeing to expand production of its Max fleet.