Well, Boeing isn't providing the work documentation / reports that should exist. Boeing also does not want to admit that such documentation does not exist - the

Well, Boeing isn't providing the work documentation / reports that should exist. Boeing also does not want to admit that such documentation does not exist - the required database lookup for this surely should have completed within the last months. I do not think this is about protecting individual employees at all. What in the recent history of Boeing makes you think they have a business in protecting employees (or their customers customers, for that matter)? I find it much more logical to assume that ass-covering operations are in full process. Admitting "we don't have documentation" surely won't bring engineers into trouble, but potentially someone from management into jail (at least one can dream). Seriously: If you would manufacture ... anything ..., and would be legally mandated to have work reports on file in a database, and were told the serial number of the product, date of production, date of door installation - would it take you more than two months to write an SQL query for that? And even if so: Again I would doubt it's the engineer who no longer remembers how to write SQL queries would be identified as the person of guilt here.