The Boeing Thread

[Kaitzilla]

The Boeing Company seems determined to discard their safety culture, so this thread is for any accidents that occur involving their airplanes.
Yes, even if it is the airlines' fault, if it happened to a Boeing aircraft put it here because maybe they still played a part.

Spoiler John Oliver Boeing Summary - NSFW Language :

Just this week, a Boeing whistleblower committed suicide after testifying once and before testifying a 2nd time.

Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead: What to Know

John Barnett, who raised concerns about the safety of Boeing’s planes, was found dead during a break in depositions against the company.

time.com

The records about who performed the door plug maintenance were all lost.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/13/boeing-ntsb-airlines-safety-00146782

Boeing first gave NTSB names of individuals in February, but only those who Boeing felt “may provide insight” regarding the work, she said. Then, Homendy said that on March 6, Boeing gave her agency a list of all personnel working on the 737 MAX line at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Washington, but had not identified who specifically worked on the door plug despite repeated requests.

“After NTSB received this list, I called [Calhoun] and asked for the names of the people who performed the work. He stated he was unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed,” Homendy wrote.

Homendy said that in addition, security camera footage that would have helped answer the question had been “overwritten.” A Boeing spokesperson said the company follows “standard practice” of overwriting footage on a 30-day rolling basis.

The door crew manager has been on medical leave the last few months and won't talk to the investigators.

Boeing overwrote surveillance footage of door plug repair, NTSB chair says | ABC Audio Digital Syndication

digital.abcaudio.com

After NTSB investigators initially requested the documents on Jan. 9, they learned the door crew manager was out on medical leave, according to Homendy.
They requested updates on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, though were informed by the manager's attorney that "he would not be able to provide a statement or interview to NTSB due to medical issues," Homendy wrote in her letter.

The DOJ has opened a criminal investigation into Boeing.

U.S. Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry Into Boeing

The investigation is tied to an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight in early January. Boeing also told a Senate panel that it cannot find a record of the work done on the Alaska plane.

www.nytimes.com

Also:
1) A Boeing 787 dropped enough to bounce 50 people off the ceiling and send 12 to the hospital.

Fifty hurt as NZ-bound flight hit by 'technical' issue

Passengers on the flight from Sydney to Auckland reported experiencing a "quick little drop".

www.bbc.com

2) A Boeing 737 was forced to land after the engine caught on fire.

Flames burst from United Airlines Boeing 737 engine: video

A United Airlines pilot was forced to initiate an emergency landing after flames began to burst from a Boeing 737-924 aircraft’s engine.

www.aerotime.aero

3) A Boeing 737 Max had part of the flight controls get jammed and had to make an emergency landing.

United’s emergency landing in LA marks airline’s fourth safety incident this week

United flight 821 from San Francisco to Mexico City landed at Los Angeles international airport after crew reported hydraulics issue

www.theguardian.com

4) A Boeing 777 had a wheel fall off on takeoff and crushed a person's car in the parking lot.

See the moment a United Airlines Boeing 777 loses a tire just after takeoff

A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Japan dumped fuel for two hours after a tire fell off one of the Boeing 777's landing gear struts.

www.businessinsider.com

5) A Boeing 737 skidded off the runway.

United Airlines passenger plane skids off Houston runway, tipping onto wing

Emergency incident at Houston's George Bush Airport after United Airlines Flight 2477 missed the runway after landing. Passengers were evacuated from the Boeing 737 plane at around 8am

www.mirror.co.uk

6) A Boeing 777 had to make an emergency landing after a tire blowout.

American Airlines flight makes emergency landing at LAX due to suspected mechanical issue

An American Airlines flight out of Dallas was forced to make an emergency landing at LAX on Wednesday for an unknown mechanical issue.

www.cbsnews.com

7) A Boeing 777 had to make an emergency landing after a fuel leak.

Terrifying moment Boeing jet begins leaking fluid in fifth incident this week

A United Flight was forced to make an emergency landing after the Boeing 777 began leaking fluid shortly after takeoff in the fifth incident this week.

www.express.co.uk

To avoid flying on any Boeing planes, use the Kayak app.

Don't Want to Fly on a Boeing Plane? There's a Kayak Filter for That

If you're not a skydiver, and you don't like your door opening mid-flight, you may want to check out Kayak's updated feature.

gizmodo.com

Don't end up like the USA Secretary of State Blinken.

The latest awkward news for Boeing: Blinken's plane broke down on his Davos trip

Blinken was stranded after his Boeing jet broke on his Davos trip. Some of his aides had to fly commercial back to the US.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Kaitzilla]

The audit results are in.

Dish soap, hotel key cards, and confusion: Boeing FAA audit unearths dozens of issues

'This won’t be back to business as usual...'

www.popsci.com

Overall, out of 89 product audits, Boeing managed to pass just 56 of them while failing 33, according to the report. Many of the problems at the Boeing facility, according to the slide presentation seen by the Times, involved the company not following “approved manufacturing process, procedure or instruction.” Others reportedly dealt with a lack of proper quality control documentation. Spirit received failing grades on seven audits and passing grades on six. At Boeing, six engineers averaged a poor score of just 58% on a test reportedly analyzing how well they understood their company’s quality-control processes.

62.9% of audits were passed by Boeing.
D- is still a passing grade in school, but maybe not for staying in the sky.

46% of audits were passed by Spirit, the main contractor making parts.
F is a fail!

58% for Boeing engineers testing how well they understood quality control.
F again!

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Boeing is having a bad run lately. First the deadly design error in the 737 max and now this. Still there are so many Boeings flying around the world some incident have to happen.

Otoh airliners makers are currently so obsessed with weight, fuel consumption and ticket prices they are making some questionable decisions when designing planes, but airlines share the blame too of course. Last aircraft designed with quality as first priority (and probably best passenger plane ever along the 747) was the Airbus A380 and look how many orders it got.

 

[r16]

air pockets have existed ever since the planes have existed even if they are simply turbulance and do not actually exist . Bomber went to Northrop Grumman . Fighter must go to Lockmart . BUT too large a fighter will drive the USN out of tactical jets business altogether so they have to be seperate programmes . Which means it will go to Boeing because . In prototype stuff it is already tearing around , years before Lockmart's . The entire F-35 development history to be shown in a bad light . Oh my , look how many United incidents ... Is it one of those all Boeing airlines ? No problem , multiple airlines have agreed to delay their orders to let United buy European . At a time failure of Boeing will make Airbus the only game in town and each new plane a treasure . Also convinces Europeans keep supporting the war , because airliners are big business . The first MAX accidents ? They are not forgotten .

 

[PhroX]

7) A Boeing 777 had to make an emergency landing after a fuel leak.

Terrifying moment Boeing jet begins leaking fluid in fifth incident this week

A United Flight was forced to make an emergency landing after the Boeing 777 began leaking fluid shortly after takeoff in the fifth incident this week.

www.express.co.uk

I'm nitpicking, but it gives me a chance to complain about the Express, which always feels good: this was a hydraulic leak, not fuel. There's no fuel lines in the gear, but there are a set of hydraulic hoses supplying pressure to the brakes and other mechanisms. It being a hydraulic failure is confirm by the footage of the plane landing with the gear doors open (a sign of a non-hydraulic gear lowering). This would've taken at most a couple of minutes for the author to check.

This event also shows that Boeing did know how to make good planes, as despite the central hydraulic system being inoperative due to the leak, the plane was able to fly perfectly well (it remained in the air for over an hour), and the return to Sydney and emergency landing was more of a precaution than anything - the plane had lost redundancy not capability.

 

[Klaus Hergersheimer]

Did John Oliver always have buggy eyes or is that just his show?

 

[Samson]

There has been a certain amount of criticism about the way the FAA is in bed with boeing, letting them do much of their own testing. What has been commented on less is all the other aviation authorities. Presumably the EU one has much the much the same relationship with airbus? I am quite sure that none of what we have found out about the boeing-FAA relationship is of any surprise to the EU, but they still certified the planes. Who is making these decisions? I do not dare to ask about the UK equivalent.

 

[r16]

100 billion dollars or more is a lot of money . So , like anything goes . The companies paying attention on their own because they might be somehow held responsible or sell less or anything . But this air pocket thing supposedly was not air pocket but the pilot moved his seat and it caused a short circuit and did this thing ever happened before ? Turns out the English engine maker has been being outsold in 787s and 777s apparently are now single source formula , just like the British maker supplies all to Airbus 350s . Expect more trouble , in addition to MAX series .

 

[ls612]

I'd still want to see more evidence on the sudden dive incident it seems very similar to other instances of sudden clear air turbulence that I've seen. The pilot might have thought the displays had gone blank for a second (which is a really strange thing to happen) due to suddenly experiencing a few negative g forces and being violently yanked into his seat belt.

 

[r16]

ı was not saying it was turbulance or short circuit . All depends on what the media says . But the eagerness is there .

 

[ls612]

The WSJ is now reporting that its likely the LATAM incident was caused by a flight attendant accidentally bumping a switch. Which would be an even stranger explanation but WSJ doesn't usually make stuff up whole cloth.

 

[r16]

oh , ı know this one ! When you are aviation minded you quickly learn hostesses were long described as open to have some s_xual interaction anywhere and anytime . The pilot might be still moving the seat to have space !

 

[Cutlass]

Who knew that the elimination of competition in the industry would lead to quality declines?

 

[r16]

airbus is competition and it was solid enough . This is like something else .

 

[Samson]

A duopoly is not a classic healthy competitive market.

 

[r16]

when Canadians stopped Brazilians from growing their regional planes into fullsize airliners ? Or the British Goverment keen on unifiying their companies by objecting Hawker Siddeley group working on the Airbus and the favoured BAC unable to sell all-British ? The demise of Douglas line by the overachieving McDD managers who also managed to ruin Boeing ? Or Lockmart's Tristar which still ended up dead despite the heart breaking accidents to DC-10 ? That was the 1970s though .

 

[Cutlass]

Hey, another one.

Older Boeing plane found to have missing panel after flight from California to southern Oregon

Officials say a post-flight inspection revealed a missing panel on a 25-year-old Boeing 737-800 after it arrived at its destination in southern Oregon.

apnews.com

 

[Lexicus]

Who knew that the elimination of competition in the industry would lead to quality declines?

In the case of Boeing, it has little to do with competition and everything to do with shareholder value ideology. Boeing changed from a company that made airplanes to a company that delivered returns to shareholders. The first couple of posts in this thread summarize the result.

 

[r16]

and which company isn't that these days ? When ı started reading in English , like late 80s , Airbus was destined to overtake Boeing by 90s and that somehow didn't happen ... It is an "American" advantage but then a lot of things are to be said about the brilliance of the smart people of the 21st Century America . You see , ı have an itch to comment when things get explained as (it is only natural because,) ...

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Anyway, saw this on X