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To the Point

Did Boeing prioritize profits over safety?

To the Point

KCRW

News

4.4583 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2019

⏱️ 40 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Months after two deadly crashes, Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft still isn’t cleared for take off. The grounding has cost Boeing billions and thousands of flights have been cancelled. Investigations portray a culture of deceit and cost cutting, incentivizing corporate profit over product safety. 

Transcript

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0:00.0

Breaking news, an Ethiopian airline's flight has crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa,

0:08.0

killing all 157 passengers and crew.

0:11.0

The 737 Max is Boeing's latest high-tech passenger jet.

0:15.0

It is selling fast around the world.

0:17.0

Airlines and at least 15 other countries and territories have grounded those Max-Series planes.

0:21.6

If Boeing's wrong for conduct continues, another plane will dive to the ground, killing me, you, all other members of your family.

0:29.6

An investigation by the New York Times indicates that the FAA's actions during the 737 Max's review process may have compromised the safety of the plane

0:40.8

itself.

0:43.3

Lacks regulation by the FAA is the latest issue raised by those two deadly air crashes,

0:50.3

and Boeing 737 Max is still grounded because of safety concerns. The company has been clumsy,

0:56.7

perhaps even deceitful from the beginning, first blaming pilots for failing to cope with new software,

1:02.9

then finally admitting there was a design flaw they were not prepared to handle. So what's happened

1:08.6

to a company famous till now for an extraordinary safety record?

1:13.9

Peter Rubbison is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg's Businessweek magazine. Thanks for being

1:19.2

on our program. Thanks for having me. How has Boeing's culture changed in the past 20 years?

1:25.8

Well, I started covering Boeing in 1998 here in Seattle, and at the time, Boeing was known

1:32.8

as an engineer's company.

1:34.1

It had a saying, you know, Boeing hires, engineers, and other people.

1:38.2

But at that time, it had also just bought McDonnell Douglas, which had a very different approach.

1:42.2

It was primarily a military contractor,

1:44.9

and it was used to managing its programs with a strict eye to cost, and it really emphasized

1:51.1

shareholder value as its predominant measure. And so Boeing's culture started to shift. The CEO at

...

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