Saturday, June 01, 2019
Why did they trust?
Via Bloomberg, several foreign airlines are trying to cancel their contracts with Boeing for the intrinsically defective 737 Max.
Step back and ask the broader question.
Why did these airlines order an intrinsically defective plane in the first place?
Each contract is two or three billion dollars. When you're thinking of spending that kind of money, it's worth spending a few million to investigate the product. An ordinary consumer, considering a $20K used car, will spend $100 on an independent mechanic to check it out.
These companies trusted info from Boeing and corrupt regulators.
Why did the corporations trust Boeing's advertising? Ordinary people didn't learn about the problem until a few major crashes made news, but pilots and independent engineers understood the problem from the start. They understood that the plane was BUILT TO CRASH, and no amount of software could counteract the BASIC DESIGN of the plane.
Why did the corporations trust the regulators? Again ordinary people aren't aware of regulatory capture, but giant corporations and governments know how it works, because GIANT CORPORATIONS ARE THE CAPTURERS. A company that routinely bribes its own regulators to squash the competition shouldn't be surprised that Boeing bribed the FAA to squash the competition.
= = = = =
Later thought: Here's an even broader question that I hadn't asked before. Many of the engineers who KNOW about problems and failures are bound by NDAs. The NDA isn't like the oaths in government intel agencies. Violating an NDA doesn't lead to prison or "suicide", but it does make you unemployable. A large enough bribe could counteract an NDA, especially for an older engineer who is close to retirement. Why don't we see more revelations via this mechanism?
Labels: Asked and unanswered, Shared Lie
¶ 1:12 AM
