Boeing, a major American aerospace company, has long been a symbol of healthy air traveling. Boeing and its German rival Airbus have dominated the market for huge passenger jet since the 1990s.
But this year, Boeing has been in the media for all the incorrect reasons. In January, an emergency entry switch blew off a Boeing 737 MAX in late- flight, triggering an investigation from United States federal regulators.
More recently, we have seen a Boeing aircraft lose a wheel while taking off, another trip turned back as the aircraft was leaking smooth, an obvious engine fire, a landing gear collapse, a hooked rudder pedal, and a plane “dropping” in flight and injuring dozens of passengers.
A Boeing architect who had raised questions about quality control during the 787 and 737 MAX plane manufacturing process also died earlier this week, reportedly from a self-inflicted bullet wound.
As people of the traveling government, should we be concerned? Also, yes and no.
Although Boeing may not have been at fault for every new event, it has certainly been spectacular. Five incidents occurred on United Airlines-owned and operated aircraft and were related to factors beyond the manufacturer’s power, such as maintenance problems, prospective foreign object dust, and human error.
A maintenance problem that was unrelated to Boeing caused a United Airlines 777 to lose a tire on takeoff. The aircraft made a safe landing in Los Angeles.
A “maintenance issue” prevented a United Airlines flight from Sydney to Los Angeles from departing because a fluid was visible to leak from the aircraft.
A United Airlines 737- 900 traveling from Texas to Florida ended up with some plastic bubble wrap in the engine, which could have caused a alleged compressor stall. This is a disruption of air flow to an operating engine, making it “backfire” and emit flames.
After a normal landing, a United Airlines 737 Max‘s gear collided after making a normal landing. The pilot continued to the end of the runway before turning onto a taxiway, possibly at too high a speed, and the aircraft ended up in the grass with the left main landing gear sagging.
On a United Airlines 737- 8 flight from the Bahamas to New Jersey, there was a fifth incident. The pilots reported that the aircraft’s rudder pedals, which control the flight’s left and right movements, were stuck in neutral during landing.
On an Alaska Airlines flight in January, the exit door plug broke. As a result, US regulators are currently looking into Boeing’s manufacturing quality control. A subcontractor for Boeing, Spirit AeroSystem, installed the door plug.
The plug door’s door plug bolts sank in flight because the bolts were n’t properly secured. The same aircraft was scheduled for a maintenance check at the end of the flight after it had a number of pressurization alarms on two previous flights.
Spirit began after Boeing shut down its own manufacturing facilities in Kansas and Oklahoma, and Boeing is currently looking to purchase the business to improve quality control. Spirit currently works with Airbus, as well, though that may change.
What changed at Boeing?
Since Airbus emerged as a major competitor in the early 2000s, according to critics, the atmosphere at Boeing has changed. The business has been accused of shifting its attention away from profit and away from high-quality engineering.
Former employees expressed concern about the company’s tight production schedules, which put extra pressure on the workers to finish the aircraft. After tools and debris were discovered on aircraft being inspected, many engineers began to question the process, and the US Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) issued a fine for Boeing for lapses in quality control.
Numerous employees have testified before the US Congress about quality control-related production issues. Based on the congressional findings, the FAA began to inspect Boeing’s processes more closely.
Several Boeing employees pointed out that during the Covid pandemic, there was a high staff turnover rate. This is not just a Boeing case; all other manufacturing processes and maintenance facilities were also affected by high turnover.
As a result, there is an acute shortage of qualified maintenance engineers, as well as pilots. The airline industry is successfully returning to pre-pandemic levels of 2019 despite these shortages having caused a number of issues.
Training programs for replacements are being conducted by airlines and maintenance centers all over the world, but this takes time because one cannot become an airline pilot or engineer overnight.
,So, is it still safe to fly on Boeing planes? Yes it is. Even though there have been some dramatic events in the news and some humorous posts on social media, Boeing still offers a very safe air travel experience.
These problems with Boeing aircraft are anticipated to be resolved right away. Even a profit-driven company will require change because the financial impact has been significant.
Doug Drury is Professor/ Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.