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“A grand jury in Washington, D.C., issued a broad subpoena dated March 11 to at least one person involved in the 737 MAX’s development...” Given how cozy Boein

“A grand jury in Washington, D.C., issued a broad subpoena dated March 11 to at least one person involved in the 737 MAX’s development...” Given how cozy Boeing is with the US government, I fear that it will be the engineers and lower managers who are nailed to the wall, not Boeing’s leadership

tyingq 8y ago
One area where the heavy unionization of this industry helps a bit. If it looks like the wrong people are being held accountable, there are several unions that can use their voice. Pilots, flight attendants, aerospace engineers, mechanics, etc.
onetimemanytime 8y ago
>>>Given how cozy Boeing is with the US government, I fear that it will be the engineers and lower managers who are nailed to the wall, not Boeing’s leadership Tricky, unless the management specifically told them to ignore safety. Otherwise, "I'm the CEO and that's why I have xx thousand engineers"
bilbo0s 8y ago
It's not like software development. In fields like aviation and medical software, when engineers say something is done, there are usually documents to be signed. Right now, I don't think I'd like to be the guys who signed off on anything at all to do with MCAS or AoA indicators. I suspect very strongly that we won't find the CEO's signature on those documents. I always implore engineers in FDA regulated medical software and any engineers in aviation to please, please, PLEASE think more like engineers who build bridges and skyscrapers. When you're signing those documents, please understand that it's legally binding. Never let a higher up pressure you into signing such a document if you have any reservations at all.
- KineticLensman 8y ago
  > In fields like aviation and medical software, when engineers say something is done, there are usually documents to be signed Yes. In aviation, an engineer may have a formal role as a design authority or as a signatory on a safety case. They will typically have to themselves sign a letter, from an engineering director, that signals acceptance of this delegated responsibility. Most companies will have some way of matching the magnitude of the responsibility to the experience level of the engineer. And enlightened companies will have a no-fault 'stop-work' mechanism that pushes sign-off responsibility upward if engineers cannot in all conscience sign off something that they consider to be poorly designed or high risk.
platz 8y ago
c.f. o-rings

tyingq 8y ago

One area where the heavy unionization of this industry helps a bit. If it looks like the wrong people are being held accountable, there are several unions that can use their voice. Pilots, flight attendants, aerospace engineers, mechanics, etc.

onetimemanytime 8y ago

>>>Given how cozy Boeing is with the US government, I fear that it will be the engineers and lower managers who are nailed to the wall, not Boeing’s leadership Tricky, unless the management specifically told them to ignore safety. Otherwise, "I'm the CEO and that's why I have xx thousand engineers"

bilbo0s 8y ago

It's not like software development. In fields like aviation and medical software, when engineers say something is done, there are usually documents to be signed. Right now, I don't think I'd like to be the guys who signed off on anything at all to do with MCAS or AoA indicators. I suspect very strongly that we won't find the CEO's signature on those documents. I always implore engineers in FDA regulated medical software and any engineers in aviation to please, please, PLEASE think more like engineers who build bridges and skyscrapers. When you're signing those documents, please understand that it's legally binding. Never let a higher up pressure you into signing such a document if you have any reservations at all.

KineticLensman 8y ago
> In fields like aviation and medical software, when engineers say something is done, there are usually documents to be signed Yes. In aviation, an engineer may have a formal role as a design authority or as a signatory on a safety case. They will typically have to themselves sign a letter, from an engineering director, that signals acceptance of this delegated responsibility. Most companies will have some way of matching the magnitude of the responsibility to the experience level of the engineer. And enlightened companies will have a no-fault 'stop-work' mechanism that pushes sign-off responsibility upward if engineers cannot in all conscience sign off something that they consider to be poorly designed or high risk.

platz 8y ago

c.f. o-rings