A worker looks up underneath a Boeing 737 MAX jet in Renton, Washington. Photo / AP
A worker looks up underneath a Boeing 737 MAX jet in Renton, Washington. Photo / AP
Boeing staff warned they would not take their own families on a 737 Max jet and joked the planes were "designed by clowns and supervised by monkeys" before two fatal crashes, damning internal messages show.
Workers developing flight simulators to train the airliner's pilots discussed covering up errors and using"Jedi mind tricks" to avoid the attention of regulators — sparking questions over whether safety was compromised to hit deadlines and financial targets.
Boeing plunged into crisis in March when one of its 737 Max airliners crashed, the second to go down in five months at a cost of 346 lives. The Max was grounded, and the crashes linked to a new system of which pilots were unaware. Last month, CEO Dennis Muilenburg was ousted for his handling of the disaster, which has cost Boeing NZ$15 billion, but is in line for a $27m pay-off, while families of crash victims get NZ$220,000 each.
The staff emails — released by Boeing under pressure from US senators — were written by workers developing flight simulators and other training systems for pilots. They suggest pressure to keep training courses short to avoid expense.
Boeing claimed pilots who had previously flown earlier 737 models could take over a Max after doing a short conversion course on a laptop or iPad.
In a message from January 2018, one engineer said: "I don't trust many people in Boeing ... Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn't."
Another described the Max as an "aeroplane designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys".
Boeing apologised for "provocative" language in emails, and said the messages "do not reflect the company we are and are completely unacceptable".
