How Boeing's Flawed 737 Max Made It Into the Air

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

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4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2021

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What did Boeing know about the potential for disaster with its 737 Max passenger jet, and when did the company know it? Tom Jennings, director of the FRONTLINE/New York Times documentary “Boeing’s Fatal Flaw,” and Times reporter David Gelles detail what their findings reveal about the lead-up to the two 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.

In conversation with FRONTLINE Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath, Jennings and Gelles discuss what they learned about the technical issues with Boeing’s fastest-selling commercial jet, as well as how market pressures, corporate culture and failed regulatory oversight ushered a plane with a fatal design flaw into commercial service. Jennings and Gelles also discuss what’s changed since the crashes — and how they’d each feel about walking onto a Boeing plane now.

The documentary “Boeing’s Fatal Flaw” is now streaming on FRONTLINE’s website, the PBS Video app and FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Bowing is one of the world's most iconic companies. However, their legacy was challenged when
0:23.9	tragedy struck in 2018 and 19. Two planes crashed. One in Indonesia and only five months later,
0:41.2	another in Ethiopia, killing a total of 346 people. It's the second disaster within five months,
0:49.8	involving the Boeing 737 MAX. That's the same kind of aircraft that crashed back in October in
0:56.7	Indonesia. Both involved the same kind of plane, the new 737 MAX, the fastest-selling jet in
1:04.2	Boeing's history. The likelihood that these two accidents were not in some way connected was
1:12.1	extremely low and it suggested that there was something going on with the plane and obviously we
1:18.3	were determined to find out. That's New York Times reporter Natalie Kitraff. Would Natalie and
1:24.5	our colleagues at the Times front line teamed up on this story. Together we investigated what
1:29.8	Boeing knew about the potential for disaster and when the company knew it. We're here with
1:35.4	front line director Tom Jennings and Times reporter David Gellis who will help us to understand
1:40.9	the market pressures, corporate culture and failed oversight that led to the deadly crashes
1:47.0	and who if anyone has been held accountable. I'm Rainy Ernst and Wrath, executive producer
1:52.8	of Frontline and this is the Frontline Dispatch. The Frontline Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams
2:03.3	Foundation, committed to excellence in journalism and by the WGBH Catalyst Fund. Support for the
2:09.7	Frontline Dispatch also comes from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Early detection
2:14.5	is key to catching and treating many cancers. You can learn more about the innovative programs at
2:19.8	massgeneral.org slash cancer. Massgeneral Cancer Center. Every day amazing.
2:28.6	The Frontline Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation, committed to excellence in
2:33.4	journalism and by the Frontline Journalism Fund with major support from John and Joanne Hagueller.
2:39.6	Support for Frontline Dispatch comes from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center,
2:43.7	dedicated to providing compassionate care and cancer specialists who are experienced in the
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