One of the two most popular planes for Hawaii flights is the Boeing 737 MAX. There’s no doubt that these ubiquitous planes remain controversial despite their adoption and popularity. Today, activist attorney Ralph Nader sounded off regarding the aircraft as it relates to presidential candidate Nikki Haley. While we generally avoid controversial subjects like this, when it comes to the 737 MAX, it’s something very near and dear to us. Editors here will fly Southwest Airlines 737 MAX 8 in the next week.
The Boeing 737 MAX remains a subject of discussion after two deadly accidents and the 737 MAX safety concerns that led to worldwide grounding.
The first incident was the Lion Air crash in the Java Sea after takeoff, which resulted in all 189 people on board being killed. Issues with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) system have been pinpointed as being causal in that accident.
Then 157 were killed when Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed following takeoff, with MCAS again being pointed to MCAS. Design flaws were pinpointed, both due to its reliance on one single sensor and due to the lack of necessary pilot training.
How is Nikki Haley involved in 737 MAX crashes?
Nader today pointed out in an open letter that Haley served on the Boeing Board of Directors from April 2019 to April 2020. “This unusually abbreviated tenure immediately followed the Boeing 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. They were perceived as caused by Boeing’s criminal negligence.”
“Cut and run” according to Nader.
“The seats on Boeing’s Board of Directors were smoking as the media began zeroing in on what the Board knew and when did they know about Boeing’s executives cutting corners, suppressing technical dissent, and accelerating production on the assembly line. Lawsuits from the government, the bereaved families, and shareholders promised sworn depositions and other discovery. It is likely that you decided to “cut and run,” given your vaulting political ambitions.”
What does Haley know about deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes?
Nader said that voters “Are entitled to a forthright explanation and willingness to answer informed questions by reporters and other interested parties about your knowledge and inquiries into the Boeing 737 Max lethal crashes.”
Regulatory oversight by the FAA?
Questions have been raised about their delegation of aspects of the plane’s certification processes to Boeing directly, which may have compromised objectivity.
The FAA and global regulatory agencies grounded the plane for an extended period. Thereafter, Boeing undertook major efforts to address these issues including MCAS software updates, added pilot training, and other safety improvements. The entire series of events served to highlight the complexity of regulatory oversight in complex, modern aircraft design and the need for additional safety measures.
The 737 MAX design changes came about way before Niki Haley was
on Boeing’s board of directors. Airbus had released the A320NEO aircraft in the mid-2010s. Boeing had to respond quickly. This resulted in the 737MAX. They didn’t have time to respond with a clean sheet design since the 737 is Boeing’s cash cow. If I recall correctly Boeing
had lost a major customer to Airbus at the time, which forced their hand even more.