Whistleblower claims manufacturing speed compromised critical passenger safety standards.
Former senior manager Ed Pierson has delivered a scathing indictment of American aerospace giant Boeing, declaring he would absolutely not fly on a 737 MAX or a 787 Dreamliner today. His refusal comes in the wake of the June 12 Air India crash near Ahmedabad, a tragedy that has amplified a critical Boeing safety warning regarding the company's manufacturing culture.
Pierson, who dedicated nearly a decade to the 737 and 787 programs and now leads the Foundation for Aviation Safety, believes the recent disaster involving the Air India Dreamliner is not a random event. Instead, he views it as a symptom of a deep-rooted corporate rot where production targets consistently trump passenger safety.
Speaking candidly, Pierson described a factory environment dominated by the mantra "schedule is king." He explained that while safety is prioritized on paper, the reality on the shop floor involves immense pressure to push aircraft out the door. This culture created an environment where inconsistent leadership allowed some teams to cut corners to meet deadlines.
One of the most alarming practices Pierson highlighted is "out of sequence work." In a standard assembly line, a plane should only move forward once every task at a specific station is finished. However, Pierson alleges that planes were frequently advanced down the line despite missing parts or incomplete quality checks. Workers were then forced to rush installations later, squeezing critical tasks between other jobs, which significantly increased the risk of errors.
Regarding the devastating Air India Ahmedabad crash, Pierson pointed to red flags that mimic past failures. He cited issues such as recurring technical glitches with flight controls, hydraulic systems, and electrical wiring. He argued that supply chain chaos led to rushed assembly, resulting in "human-built machines" prone to catastrophic failure.
Pierson expressed disgust at early attempts to pin the blame on the pilots, who perished in the accident. He described the 787 as an "electrical monster" with complex systems that can fail, insisting that investigators must look beyond the cockpit. He criticized the initial investigation reports for dismissing alert data and missing key aircraft health information.
While he criticized US regulators like the FAA for being too close to the manufacturer, Pierson praised the Indian Supreme Court for its intervention in the Ahmedabad case. Ultimately, he labeled the push to deliver faulty aircraft as "criminal behavior" and urged travelers to remain wary until a genuine safety culture is restored.
