Following several significant events with manufacturers, supply chain vendors, as well as airlines – it’s time for either a governmental or private intervention or both.
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United’s Week From Hell Continues
After a disastrous week prior, United didn’t do much to help its cause. Just yesterday a panel was found missing when the aircraft landed in Oregon. The manufacturer of that aircraft was… Boeing and the model a 737-800 (Not MAX!) More than any other carrier that I can recall, United has a habit of its planes losing parts and I can’t figure out why other than the obvious concern, an aging fleet with a deficient maintenance department.
The ones that come to mind in the last few years are:
- 2021 777-200 engine cowling falls in Denver neighborhood – not adequately inspected for cracks
- 2018 777-200 engine cowling and flame out in Hawaii
- 2024 777-200 tire falls off in LA, damages car
- 2023 767-300 emergency slide falls off on approach to O’Hare
- 2024 737-800 panel missing upon arrival
I’m sure there are some that I am forgetting some but these are more than I recall at any other single carrier. It’s important to point out that I excluded any incidents where there was a controlled engine failure, or general emergencies as most aren’t really down to preventative maintenance. I wouldn’t put the runway excursion in this category either as that’s not likely anything to do with the maintenance department. United safety needs a second look.
Spirit Aerosystems And Boeing Need Oversight
An alarming and damning report from the FAA’s white glove examination found Spirit AeroSystems failing more than half (7/13) product audits. Boeing did slightly better, but still a terrifying 33/89 failed. The headlines note that Spirit AeroSystems staff were seen using a hotel keycard to test a door and using dish detergent on door jams as a lubricant.
“The Federal Aviation Administration auditors saw mechanics for a Boeing supplier using liquid Dawn soap as a lubricant for fitting a door seal, The New York Times reported.
The regulator then observed mechanics at Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the fuselage of Boeing’s 737 Max, cleaning up using a wet cheesecloth, per The Times’ Mark Walker.
These findings were part of a six-week audit documented in a set of FAA presentation slides upon which The Times based its report.” – Business Insider
The truth is that every restaurant is perfectly clean when they know the inspector is on the way. Following the Alaska Airlines issue, there’s no question that Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems knew inspectors would visit. Yet there were still highly avoidable issues that cause justifiable concern. Even knowing the inspectors were coming, they still failed in such obvious and deplorable ways.
It’s clear that both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems need oversight and its imperative not just for the traveling public but for the US economy too. In 2023, oil just barely edged out civilian aircraft for total US exports by 3.5%. Safety is the key both to continued sales of Boeing aircraft and of course for flyers around the world.
None of us can settle for a “good” enough approach to safety and we can’t afford it either.
Is Governmental Intervention Better Than Private?
I have found few pieces of evidence that prove the government does a better job than the private sector. That’s not to say that there aren’t problems with the private sector, greed, and financial performance generally outweigh other important metrics. Looking to private and public examples, Veteran’s Affairs (VA) hospitals don’t receive the highest marks, and though egregiously expensive, US hospitals are among the best in the world. NASA hadn’t improved spacecraft and rocketry since the late 1970s, while a private space race in the 2000s brought down costs while improving technology and reliability. Private security let restricted boxcutters through on September 11th, and for all of its many, many, many failures, the TSA has not experienced a similar mass terror event on its watch (though the boxcutter issue remains a problem.)
One argument against private oversight would be Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Spirit AeroSystems, and United Airlines. It’s clear that these companies cannot be trusted to self-regulate at the moment otherwise the issues we have seen crop up wouldn’t be a topic of concern. However, the FAA has oversight abilities in most of these cases too, and has also failed. Upon a more fastidious review, the FAA found significant problems at Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing.
Perhaps an organization solely dedicated to safety evaluations is needed. This could be public or private, but would need to be independent of the FAA (which had failed until their recent evaluation) and independent of the carriers (must be paid for by the industry but not selected by the industry it regulates.)
Conclusion
It’s clear that the FAA can find the problems they are looking for when they decide to look. And it’s clear that even under this level of regulatory and public scrutiny, manufacturers and some airlines won’t put the time, effort, and money into running a flawless safety program. There’s just no room for error, especially at a rate of 37% for Boeing, 54% for Spirit AeroSystems. For Boeing, the stakes are just as high for aircraft incidents, but face a far bigger issue with clients who have no shortage of alternative airlines with whom to fly.
Oversight is needed, but it should come from an independent third-party organization not a sleepy government body that needed a dramatic incident to wake up, nor from self-regulating corporations that remain asleep at the wheel.
What do you think?
How about Prevention in the first place ?
Applies to everything .
2024 tire fell off in SFO not LA.
Too many headline mishaps, but it’s also the everyday stuff. My personal experience with United is that tech issues come up constantly, often discovered at the last moment, sometimes serious. I never used to think about airline safety. Now with United, I do.
So, you want to privatize the FAA.
Government intervention? Like what? Direct oversight? Bureaucrats who aren’t engineers, running a company who’s image and brand is so tarnished, it probably won’t survive in its present form and likely faces a big break up and being picked off by other US defense contractors? One of Boeing’s biggest problems during the development of the MAX and the 787 was its too cozy relationship with the FAA.
@lavanderialarry … +1 . Also , what happened to engineers , quality control , and skilled maintenance ?
What intervention would work, thanks to the current state of corruption in the government-industrial complex? Boeing, Spirit Aerosystems, et. al. give millions of dollars of campaign cash every year to the inhabitants of The Swamp (TM). The Congress critters and paid-for bureaucrats then staff the oversight boards with industry insiders hand-picked by their benefactors. Said oversight boards then do whatever the regulated industry demands, after which the bureaucrats and Congress critters get plum jobs in the C-suite or as lobbyists. Rinse and repeat.
The only solution is actually what we’re seeing right now – bad press, which forces the parties involved to at least temporarily act on their best behavior while the world is watching.
@MeanMeosh … +1 .
What about involving the NTSB in conjunction with the FAA for a change? Their investigative talent and perspective on past events would prove to be useful.
+1, DFox!!
Having watched too many “Air Disasters,” I have thought the same.
Ultimately, the mission of the FAA (and the FDA) was altered a few decades ago, from consumer protection, to commercial development and export growth. We can see this from all the crappy decisions the FAA has made, as various Congresses have whittled their budgets, forcing the unholy initiative for manufacturer self-audit and self-reporting. Bad press ain’t gonna fix systemic lack of institutional control. As noted in the article, years and years of terrible news and reputational hits have resolved how many operational deficiencies? Even Kyle was incredulous at the lack of “all hands on deck” to make sure all processes/procedures were in place and being followed to a T! Who knows, maybe 7/13 and 33/89 faulty processes were an improvement over the previous 60-90 days? One shudders at the thought!
Look at events listed on Aviation Herald. These occur often but are still just a small number in the context of the number of flights. Planes affected seem split evenly between airbus and boeing.
The FAA oversight is a joke. They hand all the power over to the carrier and hope for the best. There is little to no accountability. Why would there be? There are no consequences when no one is looking.
The Alaska door was certainly Boeing’s fault. A bunch of these other incidents are not – The FAA has said that they are actively recruiting from the marginalized mentally ill groups. United has said they are currently filling positions using DEI. Past and present administrations putting wildly incompetent, zero experiance people in appointee positions (DOT?).
Just like a intersection, it’s going to take a couple of car accidents and a bunch of deaths before they put a traffic light at these cross streets.