Boeing

The Coronavirus may be taking its time to mark a significant number of confirmed cases in the midwestern US, but the aviation manufacturing industry in Wichita, Kansas, is already suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its workforce. Manufacturers, including Textron Aviation, Bombardier, and Spirit AeroSystems, have seen the effects—and express hope that the […]

The cover story in The New York Times magazine for September 22, 2019, was entitled, “What Really Brought Down the Boeing 737 Max?” The writer, William Langewiesche—son of the sainted author of Stick and Rudder, Wolfgang Langewiesche—is a veteran of Flying, an experienced pilot, and a thorough and technically savvy researcher of his wide-ranging articles […]

On March 8, 2017, the FAA granted Boeing an amended type certificate for the 737 Max 8, the 12th derivative of the 737 and the first successor aircraft to the 737 NG series. The first fatal crash of a Lion Air 737 Max 8 occurred just 17 months later near Jakarta, Indonesia. Another Max 8, […]

In this industry, an airplane with a for sale sign never seems all that odd. When the airplane turns out to be a relatively new Boeing Business Jet—a BBJ 787 Dreamliner no less—people tend to pay attention. Boeing Business Jets are usually purchased for senior executive or VIP transportation and, with a list price north […]

David Calhoun assumed the role of Boeing’s CEO only one week ago, but his plate of problems was already full because of the chaos surrounding the company’s beleaguered 737 Max. Recent news following the ousting of Calhoun’s predecessor Dennis Muilenburg has only continued to darken the credibility cloud hanging over the company. Some industry sources […]

The Aviation Safety Network, an arm of the Flight Safety Foundation, reported 2019 was still one of the industry’s safest, despite the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max in March that claimed 157 lives. Last year wasn’t accident-free, however. ASN says 20 airline accidents around the world claimed 283 lives. Even when accounting […]

The sad saga of the Boeing 737 Max has been a slow-burning corporate, engineering, regulatory, human-interest and public-relations nightmare for going on six months now—with no end in sight. The magnitude of Boeing’s deadly foul-up is a frequent topic of conversation in airliner cockpits, and considerable ink has been spilled over the subject in both […]

The Monday, December 16, 2019, announcement at Boeing’s Chicago headquarters of the company’s plan to halt 737 Max production in January 2020 was not much of a surprise to anyone. Despite the troubled airplane’s grounding in March 2019, America’s top manufacturing exporter continued building 42 airframes each month, creating a backlog of more than 400 […]

In a brilliant collaboration announced last week, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and Boeing are making a bold move to address future aviation and aerospace industry workforce shortages by partnering to offer young people age 18 and under free admission to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2020. The free youth admission is available throughout AirVenture week and […]

Following an accident on Southwest Airlines (SWA) Flight 1380 in April 2018 that resulted in the death of passenger Jennifer Riordan, the National Transportation Safety Board announced the probable cause during a public board meeting held last week. A fractured fan blade from a CFM International CFM-56-7B engine, powering a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, led […]