94K views · Apr 29, 2019 · 16:12 · 0 HN recommenders · 3 mentions · discussed 2019
CNBC coverage of Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg answering shareholder questions after the 737 Max crashes. He assures shareholders the plane is safe after a software fix.
Why Hacker News points people here: Mostly cited critically as an example of a CEO deflecting blame during the 737 Max crisis.
“That’s somewhat economical with the truth.”
Video of Muilenburg press conference: this video He says MCAS is a “system that’s designed to provide handling qualities to the pilot that meet pilot preferences.” That’s somewhat economical with the truth. It’s designed more to meet the airline’s preference not to have to retrain their pilots, and Boeing’s preference to recover lost market share from Airbus.
“He was so intent on avoiding blame that he gave me no confidence that Boeing could learn from its mistakes.”
When the Boeing CEO had his press conference in April, he said "we've confirmed that the MCAS system as originally designed did meet our design and safety analysis criteria and our certification criteria."[1] I yelled at the screen "you know that means the criteria are flawed , right? If the procedures didn't catch this mistake, that means there are other mistakes that weren't caught!" A flabbergasted reporter then asks him if he means to say that MCAS was designed to push the nose down 21 times. The CEO then blamed the pilots for not following procedures! He repeatedly avoids avoiding admitting that any mistakes were made. He was so intent on avoiding blame that he gave me no confidence that Boeing could learn from its mistakes. The longer he talked, the less confidence I had in Boeing as a company. I have no idea why this guy still has his job. [1] this video
“he killed the reputation of Boeing from investors, people and customers.”
All airlines should cancel MAX orders. After watching the CEO defend their position in the Q2 shareholder’s meeting, he killed the reputation of Boeing from investors, people and customers. Boeing deserves nothing but financial punishment and consequences of the people that died in the two crashes. Edit: Link to the meeting this video
