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Documentary “Downfall: the Case Against Boeing” Leaves A Lot Out

A Prologue In “Dismantling the Administrative State”

I just learned of the documentary: “Downfall: the Case Against Boeing” from a review at CounterPunch: The Downfall of Boeing: Its Planes and Company

So before I read the CP review, I searched on line to watch the documentary.

It’s on Netflix, but here is a link where you can watch it for free. Highly recommended.

The documentary does a pretty good job of exposing (with receipts) the greed, criminal corruption, deception, lies, and mismanagement of Boeing.

The documentary explains how the historic safety and engineering oriented Boeing corporation underwent a corporate merger with McDonald Douglas in the late 1990’s. The new management team abandoned Boeing’ safety first culture and sought to maximize profits, “shareholder value” and short term Wall Street stock prices. This resulted in layoffs, workplace speedups, marginalizing the role of safety and quality control engineers, cutting corners, firing whistleblowers, and misleading FAA regulators.

The documentary relies heavily on the investigative reporting of one Wall Street Journal reporter. In contrast, the New York Times and the Washington Post did more coverage of the FAA regulatory oversight failures. This over-reliance on the Wall Street Journal helps flesh out the financial backstory, but it leads to serious shortcomings.

The documentary leaves a lot out. In doing so, that gives not only the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Congress a huge pass, but misses a huge opportunity to expose the pro-corporate Neoliberal regulatory oversight model that creates across the board systemic dangers to public safety, public health, the environment and climate.

These systemic regulatory problems are not limited to the airline industry, airline safety and the FAA. They apply across the board to Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Chemical, Big Agriculture and the Banks and Wall Street and the various federal and state regulatory agencies that were created to protect the public interest, and public health, safety and welfare.

So here’s my take on the documentary and the CP review:

In an almost exclusive focus on Boeing crimes, the documentary (and the review CounterPunch published) virtually ignore the Congressional corruption and regulatory oversight flaws that allowed both crashed to happen.

In a single tangential allusion to FAA regulatory oversight, the CP reviewer seems to think that the FAA’s problems stem from lack of leadership at the top – which is total bullshit.

Let me be specific in naming the source of the problems: Privatization, deregulation, government downsizing, a pro-business “partnership” model of oversight, and regulatory capture (and of course, Congressional corruption).

But to focus on these larger systemic flaws would undermine the “Boeing as Bad Apple” narrative –

That would also scare the hell out of the public because the problems are not restricted to Boeing or airline safety.

The documentary explains the financial and management backstory: In order to compete with AirBus, who had taken Boeing market share with a popular new fuel efficient plane, Boeing installed more efficient engines on a 40 year old 737 design. These engines were larger, heavier, and more powerful, that rode higher and more forward on the wings. This significant new design created stability problems, including catastrophic crash outcomes. Boeing installed a software system to correct these design flaws and prevent the planes from crashing. Boeing knew that pilots needed to respond to the new software system in less than 10 seconds, or the plane would crash. Despite knowing this, Boeing still suppressed the information and guaranteed that no new pilot training was required.

The new design should have triggered rigorous FAA review and new pilot training. For cost and delay reasons, Boeing misled everyone and suppressed this information.

Because of the lax regulatory oversight, FAA failed to mandate that this significant design change undergo regulatory review (and pilot training).

Regardless of Boing’s deceptions, the FAA allowed Boeing to contractually dictate pilot training requirements in the sale agreements and contractual guarantees (i.e. Boeing sold the plane with guarantees of “no pilot training”).

Regardless of Boeing’s deceptions, the FAA allowed a software system to correct a fundamental design flaw that created instability that the software was required to correct.

Then after the first crash, FAA doubled down on their negligent oversight by allowing software modifications to “fix” the design and original software problems.

Then, after all the investigations documented all Boeing corruption (which led to DoJ criminal indictment), FAA allowed pilot training and software to “solve” the underlying fatally flawed design problem and allowed the plane back in the air.

The documentary and the CP reviewer ignore or downplay or obfuscate all that.

The final seconds of the documentary – in just one short sentence – mentions that Congress passed legislation to strengthen FAA oversight. This gives the false appearance of Congressional diligence and ignores even mentioning the underlying problems of FAA oversight.

It sweeps the FAA regulatory policy and oversight flaws under the rug, as well as the systemic corporate corruption of Congressional legislation, budget, and oversight powers.

Wow.