The Failures Inside Boeing's 737 Factory

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, Business News, News

4.2 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2024

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In January, a door panel blew off a Boeing 737 MAX plane during an Alaska Airlines flight. Informal communication logs between workers at the Boeing plant where the plane was assembled reveal disarray, repeated production delays and crews who apparently didn’t follow procedures. WSJ's Sharon Terlep reviewed the logs and explains what they reveal. Further Reading: - The Disarray Inside Boeing’s 737 Factory Before the Door Plug Blowout - Boeing’s Next CEO Will Have ‘Massive Job’ at Company in Crisis - Justice Department Opens Probe, Interviews Crew in Alaska Airlines Blowout Further Listening: - A Hole in a Plane and a Headache for Boeing - The Pressure Inside Boeing - How the Grounded Boeing Jet Shook the Airline Industry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	In November 2022, 2022, Boeing CEO, Dave Calhoun hosted investors at the company's flagship production facility in Renton, Washington.
0:15.0	Welcome everyone to Renton,
0:20.0	to our delivery center.
0:22.0	This is the source of all truths if you want to know anything
0:25.9	about Boeing. Calhoun said the company was finally moving beyond a pair of
0:31.6	deadly crashes and the aviation slowdown from the pandemic.
0:36.5	And he made a bold promise.
0:39.1	The company would deliver hundreds of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max.
0:45.7	I'm excited about all this.
0:47.6	It's been tough.
0:49.2	It's been a heavy haul for everybody.
0:51.8	But Boeing's promised recovery unraveled this year. After one of its
0:57.5	jets had a major problem in January. We begin to 9 and 10 o'clock with breaking news and Alaska Airlines plane heading to Ontario
1:07.1	was forced to make an emergency landing.
1:09.1	A passenger video taken on board the Boeing 737 Max Nine plane shows the gaping hole.
1:15.0	A huge hole blown in the fuselage of the plane, 16,000 feet up in the air.
1:21.0	Federal investigators quickly zeroed in on the likely cause.
1:26.0	The panel that blew out was not properly secured.
1:30.0	The bolts meant to hold it in place were missing.
1:37.0	Our colleagues have been digging into what happened.
1:42.0	Talking to Boeing executives, federal officials,
1:46.0	and the workers who helped build that exact plane.
	...

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