The Boeing 737 MAX - PDF

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REPORT ON
BOEING 737 MAX

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Boeing is regarded as a leading organisation within aerospace industry. The company
produced a 737 MAX Series which was well renowned within this business sector. However,
two of its airplanes, namely, Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed
owing to the unethical practices in which the engineers and plane designers indulged. These
crashes led to loss of huge number of lives and owing to this, this series of Boeing was banned to
take flight across the world. The reasons for both of the crashes were found to be the same. It
was found out that the pilots of both the airplanes radioed the control stations regarding the
inefficiencies to control and handle the flights manually and they possessed the belief that it was
desirable as well as safe to return to start point. This is the point where the entity faced ethical
dilemma. The first dilemma was to let the airplane continue with the flight or permit both the
pilots to return to the take off point. Further, another big dilemma faced by Boeing was in
relation to the unethical engineering practices due to which there was absence of warning lights
in the planes. Giving in to the undesirable and unethical practices, the avoidance of Boeing
towards the inefficiencies of plane led to the two of the biggest crashes of aerospace industry
ever. The crashes that took place caused the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX and brought bad
name to the organisation. The possible ways in which the reputation of company can be regained
and enhanced are to render training to the pilots before they take off any particular flight and to
ensure that designing of planes of company is done in an ethical manner as the airplanes are
equpped with all necessary safety equipments.
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
About the Company................................................................................................................4
Grounding of Boeing 737 Max...............................................................................................5
Ethical Dilemma.....................................................................................................................6
Root Cause..............................................................................................................................7
Potential Resolution Approaches...........................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFLECTION (DIEP)...................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
The Boeing 737 MAX is a slender body series of aircrafts produced as well as designed
by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. This series was developed as the fourth generation of Boeing
737 following the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG). This 737 series of company was
announced in public on the date August 30 during the year 2011. The first airplane of this 737
MAX series referred to as The Spirit of Renton carried out its flight dated 29 January, 2016. The
737 MAX series of Boeing received the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification
during March, 2017. The Boeing 737 MAX series of aircrafts is based upon the earlier 737
designs. However, it is re-designed with much more efficient CFM International LEAP-1B
engines, modifications within the airframe and the aerodynamic improvements inclusive of the
distinctive split-tip winglets. Over years, the 737 MAX series has been offered in four types of
variants, usually offering from 138 to around 230 seats and 5,954 to 7,084 kilometres range. The
737 MAX 7, MAX 8 and MAX 9 are proposed to replace the 737-700, -800, and -900
respectively. Supplementary length is rendered with the additionally stretched 737 MAX 10. By
January of 2019, the Boeing 737 MAX has received 5,011 orders from several companies and
delivered an overall of 350 aircrafts. The present report is based upon the grounding of Boeing
Max 737 owing to the violation of ethical practices. This report consists of the ethical dilemmas,
problems, root cause and the resolution approaches.
About the Company
Boeing is regarded as the topmost company within the aerospace industry and the biggest
producer of military aircraft as well as commercial jetliners. In addition to this, Boeing is also
involved in designing and manufacturing of satellites, launch vehicles, rotorcrafts, missiles,
electronic and defence systems and advanced information and communication systems. Being
one of the most dominant service providers for NASA, this organisation operates the Space
Shuttle along with International Space Station. This entity also renders a number of military as
well as commercial airline support service. Boeing possesses a loyal and trustable customer base
in over 90 countries across the globe and is known to be one of the largest exporters of United
States in relation to revenues. Boeing has a long tradition of aerospace leadership and innovative
approach. It continues to expand its product line as well as facilities with a view to fulfil the
emerging needs of the customer. Their wide variety of capabilities comprise of integration of
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military platforms, creation of new and extra efficient members of their commercial airplane
family, defence systems together with the war fighter by way of network-centric operations,
development of advanced technology solutions which posses the tendency to reach across the
business units, e-enabling airplanes and providing connectivity on moving platforms and doing
arrangements of financing solutions for their loyal base of customers.
Having its headquarters in Chicago, Boeing employs over 160000 people across United
States and 70 other countries. This demonstrates that Boeing has one of the most talented,
diverse and innovative workforces across the globe. Over 83,800 of the people belonging to staff
have the college degrees inclusive of around 29,000 advanced degrees within every kind of
business or technical field from approx. 2,800 universities as well as colleges widely spread
across the world. This entity also leverages the talent of thousands more competent personnel
working for Boeing suppliers across the globe.
Boeing has implemented an Ethics and Business Conduct program to ensure adherence to
ethical and legal conduct at all times. The purpose of this program is to:-
Communicate the core values of company together with the standards of ethical business
conduct to the workforce.
Inform personnel about the policies as well as procedures of company in relation to an
ethical business conduct.
Establish companywide processes to provide aid to personnel in gaining guidance and
resolving queries related to compliance with the organisation’s standards of ethical
conduct as well as the Boeing Values.
Establish companywide criteria for education as well as awareness programs about ethics.
Grounding of Boeing 737 Max
During March 2019, governments and airlines spread across the globe carried out the
grounding of the Boeing 737 Max passenger airliner post the crash of two flights of company
within the tenure of five months which ultimately lead to loss of lives of all the 346 persons on
both the flights. In this regard, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea twelve minutes post
the take-off with a total of 189 passengers together with the crew dated 29 October, 2018.
Further, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes post the take-off with a total of 157
passengers along with the crew on 10 March, 2019. In each of the before mentioned accidents,
the aircraft was not more than four months old. Post these crashes, attention quickly shifted to
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the newly introduced Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) by the 737
MAX that automatically bends the nose of aircraft in case the sensors indicate that a stall may be
found to be imminent (The emerging 737 Max scandal, explained, 2019). Satellite tracking data
reflected that post the take-offs, both the aircrafts (Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines
Flight 302) underwent tremendous fluctuations in terms of their vertical speed. Pilots of both
these aircrafts radioed that they were facing problems related to flight control and intended to go
back to the airport.
On 11 March 2019, the Ethiopian Airlines announced the grounding of its 737 MAX 8
fleet with effect from 10 March. On 11 March, the China Civil Aviation Administration citing its
zero-tolerance policy against violation of any safety hazard became the first ever governmental
authority to ground their 737 MAX aircraft. Within the following two days, nations as well as
airlines across the globe either grounded or banned the 737 Max aircraft from flying in their
airspace.
While the airplanes have been out of service, Boeing has been designing and evaluating
software fix to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that is posed to a
review by the panel of Global Aviation Regulators. Airline users of Boeing 737 MAX further
announced the daily flight cancellations that are expected to continue throughout August, 2019
(The emerging 737 Max scandal, explained, 2019). The Inspector General of the US Department
of Transportation (DOT) soon opened an enquiry into the approval and certification given by
FAA to the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft series demonstrating high possibilities of potential failure
of the safety review as well as certification procedures of Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). The next day after the crash of Ethiopian Airlines, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena
on the part of United States Justice Department to carry out investigation upon the documents
associated with the designing and development of the 737 MAX series of Boeing.
Ethical Dilemma
The investigations that were conducted to find out the probable causes of the crashes of
Max 737 laid out a number of causes. It revealed that the pilots of the two flights radioed the
control station about the inefficiency of pilots to manually control and handle the flights and they
were willing to return back to the take-off point. However, the company was in the dilemma to
let the flight continue the journey or allow the pilots to do an emergency landing. Having not
given due consideration to the appeal of the pilots and the lack of ethical approach employed by
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company, the two biggest crashes in the history of aerospace took place within a span of six
months in 2018. Further, another ethical dilemma that the company faced was regarding the
unethical engineering owing to which they were no warning lights in both the flights (A question
of safety or ethics: The Boeing 737, 2019).
Ethical theory comprises Kantianism, Individualism, Utilitarianism, Social Contract
theory and the virtue theory. Individualism can be referred to as the moral emphasis of the
individual. Utilitarianism theory of ethics states that one must maximize the happiness for
oneself and others. Kantianism consists of a number of principles but the main is to act
rationally, respect people and their autonomy and be motivated by good will. Virtue Theory has
4 main characteristics, namely, courage, self control, honestly and fairness. Social Contract states
the view that an individual’s moral obligations are dependent on an agreement among them to
create the society in which they live. All these ethical theories were violated by Boeing wherein
the entity indulged in unethical decision making and consequently undertook wrong engineering
decisions in relation to Max 737 flights. The management of company was just concerned about
profit making and disregarded the thought about putting the lives of hundreds at stake while
allowing the pilot to continue the flight even after getting knowledge of the faults and the
probable consequences that could pave the way. The management was just worried about ways
to ensure maximisation of profits rather than earning reasonable profits for their top grade and
reputable company. The crashes further brought huge disappointment to all the stakeholders of
entity which had to suffer huge losses and penalisation owing to the unethical organisational
conduct of Boeing (Boeing Scandel - All for Themselves, January 2003 By Ryan Critelli, Based
on Essay by James Ciejka and Keith Maynard, 2019).
Root Cause
The complete reports of the investigation carried out to ascertain the causes of two
biggest crashes of Boeing have not been published till now. The investigations associated with
crash are extremely complex and it takes a long time period to analyse and evaluate all the
evidences so as to determine and reach at a probable cause of the unfavourable event.
Investigations are still being carried out in relation to the examination of debris, flight recorders
as well as bodies of deceased in order to ascertain the cause behind their deaths. The enquiry is
conducted in relation to a number of aspects such the airplane, the airline, governmental agencies
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and the engine manufacturers (What caused the crashes? Boeing 737 Max crashes show
similarities, investigators find, 2019).
The 737 Max series of Boeing contained the CFM LEAP engines which are of large size
and the probable reason why the 737 Max sits so low to the ground. Owing to this, Boeing
moved the engines a bit forward and raised them higher on their underwing pylons. This change
within the flights gave access to Boeing to incorporate the engines without totally re-designing
the 737 Max fuselage. This new position altered the manner in which the aircraft was handled in
air, increasing the probabilities of the nose pitching up during the flight. A pitched nose is an
issue within the flight which tends to raise it too high and increases the probability of stalling of
an aircraft. To deal with this situation, Boeing developed and designed the software called
Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. This software provides assistance in
ensuring that the nose is pushed down by MCAS in case a sensor on the fuselage suspects that
the immense height of nose.
In relation to the Lion Air crash, investigators have reported that a fault within the sensor
may have been putting incorrect data to MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation
System) consequently pitching the nose low into a dive. As per the preliminary report provided
by the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee, the pilots of this airplane were not
able to ascertain their actual airspeed and altitude and consequently struggled to take a control
over the plane before the crash. Thus, the flight oscillated for a time period of 10 minutes. Every
time the pilots pulled up from any dive, the MCAS pushed the nose of airplane down yet again
(What caused the crashes? Boeing 737 Max crashes show similarities, investigators find, 2019).
Besides the above mentioned facts, the report further noted that the maintenance crew of
this airplane had substituted the faulty sensor two days prior to the take-off of flight and that
pilots reported an incorrect airspeed and altitude information post the crash. The New York
Times as well as The Air Current reported that the Lion Airplane did not have a warning light
(which is specifically designed in airplanes to alert pilots to any kind of fault) as Boeing sold this
warning light as fraction of a discretionary package of equipment. When enquired about the
warning light, one of the spokesmen of Boeing stated, "All the airplanes of Boeing are certified
and delivered by maintaining the maximum level of safety in consistence with the industry
standards. Delivery of airplanes is complimented with a baseline configuration inclusive of a
benchmarked set of flight deck displays as well as alerts, crew processes and training materials
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which are sufficient to meet the safety norms of industry and enough to fulfil most of the
customer requirements." All of the before-mentioned causes together led to the two biggest
crashes of Boeing in the history of aerospace causing the death of all the passengers travelling
within the two airplanes. The investigators further stated that the causes of crash of both the
airplanes were same and largely owed to the unethical practices adopted by company and the
unethical engineering which caused massive designing failures leading to the tremendous loss of
lives (Boeing 737 MAX: A Question of Ethical Engineering, 2019).
Potential Resolution Approaches
The possible resolution approaches that can be undertaken by company are given as
follows:-
Boeing should provide adequate and sufficient training to pilots every time they fly a new
flight in order to ensure that they are well equipped with all the necessary information
and statistics about the flight. This will ensure that no adverse outcomes take place in the
form of crashes or collapses of airplanes.
Further, the entity should ensure that all the airplanes are equipped with the emergency
and safety equipments such as warning light as against the case of Max 737 which led to
loss of a large number of lives.
Company should ensure that the designing of airplanes as well as the software fitted
within the airplanes should be such that the manual handling can take a control over these
in case of emergency conditions.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of the above given discussion, it has been concluded that ethics form an
essential part of every organisation and should not be neglected by an entity at any point of time
at any cost. Further it has been analysed that a breach of ethical code of conduct by the
organisation leads to adverse situations for the entity leading to ill consequences for company in
terms of compensation and loss of loyal and honest base of customers.
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REFLECTION (DIEP)
The above project done on Boeing company assisted me in gaining knowledge about the
two of the biggest crashes that took place in the global history of aerospace industry. In this
regard, I have used DIEP framework to reflect upon my journey throughout this module and to
assess my performance over the course of this project execution.
Description: I was assigned a task by my tutor to prepare a report on Boeing Max 737.
To execute this, I carried out a research upon the topic under study and the analysed its validity
and relevance to complete the project. After doing this project, I found out that the lessons
gained during this tenure were quite helpful to improve my academic skills such as analytical
and critical thinking.
Illustration: This project helped me to gain knowledge about the various prospects of the
Boeing Max Crash so as to gain knowledge about the probable consequences and the causes that
led to such a disaster. While doing this project, I felt sympathy for the relatives and
acquaintances of people who died in the crashes. From the information gathered, I could
concluded that this disaster was an outcome of ethical breach done by engineers of Boeing.
Evaluation: From the project, I could evaluate that the probable consequence behind this
crash was the unethical conduct of engineers of company and their mismanagement owing to
which they did not equip the planes with signal lights. Further, I evaluated that company was in
the dilemma that they should call back both the planes after receiving information from pilots
about the inconvenience being faced by them or let the flights continue their journey. I
comprehended that one wrong decision of entity as well as the unethical engineering led to crash
of Boeing Max 737 and the grounding of this series.
Plan: In future course of time, if I ever have to conduct a study upon this topic again, I
will make use of the knowledge gained from this project to execute the new assignment
successfully within the allotted time frame.
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REFERENCES
What caused the crashes? Boeing 737 Max crashes show similarities, investigators find. 2019.
[Online]. Available Through:<https://www.cnet.com/news/boeings-737-max-8-all-
about-the-aircraft-flight-ban-and-investigations/>.
Boeing 737 MAX: A Question of Ethical Engineering. 2019. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.eetindia.co.in/news/article/Boeing-737-MAX-A-Question-of-
Ethical-Engineering>.
Boeing Scandel - All for Themselves, January 2003 By Ryan Critelli, Based on Essay by James
Ciejka and Keith Maynard. 2019. [Online]. Available
Through:<http://businessethicscases.blogspot.com/2013/02/boeing-scandel-all-for-
themselves.html>.
A question of safety or ethics: The Boeing 737. 2019. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/mindfly/a-question-of-safety-or-
ethics-the-boeing-737/>.
The emerging 737 Max scandal, explained. 2019. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.vox.com/business-and-finance/2019/3/29/18281270/737-max-
faa-scandal-explained>.
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