This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
Published on July 29, 2019, a former Boeing engineer has spoken out about the intense pressure he and his team faced to cut costs and avoid scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) while working on the 737 Max.
Adam Dickson, a 30-year Boeing veteran who led a team of engineers on the 737 Max project, told BBC Panorama that the company's culture was 'very cost-centered and incredibly pressurized.' He claimed that engineers were given targets to reduce costs and that the team lacked sufficient resources to do the job properly.
According to Dickson, the company pressured engineers to downplay new features on the 737 Max, describing changes as minor rather than major, to avoid FAA scrutiny. He stated that the goal was to show that the differences between the new design and the previous one were so minor that they wouldn't require a major design classification in the certification process.
Boeing has denied Dickson's claims, stating that it did not cut corners or push the 737 Max out before it was ready. The company emphasized its commitment to safety, quality, and integrity.
The 737 Max has been at the center of two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, resulting in the loss of 346 lives. Investigators have cited the plane's Maneuvering Characteristic Augmentation System (MCAS) as a contributing factor to both crashes.
