By Ray Cardello for May 5, 2024, Season 26 / Post 15

Of the 7,309 aircraft in the U.S. commercial inventory, 3,173, or 43 percent, were manufactured by Boeing. As the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space, and security systems, Boeing supports airlines and U.S. allied government customers in 150 countries. It is acknowledged that air travel is one of the safest means of transportation. No mode is 100% safe, and it is comforting to know the efforts spent on ensuring the plane we board is as secure as humanly possible. The maintenance and safety inspections are integral to the airline industry’s safety record.

Recent incidents have focused our attention on the credibility of information supplied by Boeing about the quality and safety of the airplanes it manufactures. Admittedly, there are few incidents, but the facts behind the headlines are disturbing. Two in particular are alarming. The first is the door that fell off the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 in mid-flight in January. The fortunate element is that nobody was severely injured or killed in this incident. Unfortunately, the airline may have known the problem; therefore, the plane was restricted to overland versus overwater routes. This plane was at a low altitude when the door was displaced, which was a Godsend, for at cruising altitude, passengers may have been sucked out of the plane. A tire fell off a United Airlines Boeing 777 in March as it departed from San Francisco International Airport. The reasons for these two accidents were very simple. The door was missing a bolt, and the tire had missing nuts.

Boeing has come under close scrutiny and investigation because of these and other incidents. During these investigations, many whistleblowers came forward with disturbing information about alleged practices at Boeing that put airplanes and passengers at risk. Two of those whistleblowers are now dead. I have a difficult time believing this is a coincidence, but I hope to God these men were not killed to prevent damage to a major corporation. I am also not naive enough to believe it is impossible.

There is a core cause of quality issues at Boeing and other companies with similar problems in different industries: DEI. The emphasis on filling quotas and checking boxes in lieu of competence is causing devastating dynamics. I do not care about the color of the skin or the sexual preference of the mechanic, whose job is to put the bolt in the hinge to keep the door on the plane. I want them to understand and perform the job without error. We have abandoned excellence for teamwork and employee feelings that we are paying the price by putting ourselves at risk of injury or death. Had that door fallen off at 40,000 feet over the Pacific, we would have been talking about a major disaster.

People are beginning to understand that DEI is harmful for many reasons and are taking action. Even in my hometown, parents have spoken up and forced the school board to terminate the DEI coordinator who had been placed by the local BLM chapter. People are taking back our country, which had been restricted and modified by the Radical Left and exacerbated by COVID.

There will be investigations, and Boeing will be held accountable for their actions and issues. Hopefully, the death of these two men who bravely came forward to point out issues at Boeing will be found to be natural. If not, we have far deeper problems to address.