Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing

by Peter Robison

The industry’s rapid growth badly stretched its ability to recruit and train people to fly all the planes it was selling, and in at least some corners of Boeing, pilots well knew how much these customers struggled with basic proficiency. After a visit to an airline in Africa, a Boeing trainer reported to his boss that he’d be writing up a short report: “Should not fly airplanes.” A carrier in Russia, S7, was considered dangerous enough that some Boeing instructors refused to fly on it unless they were at the controls. Most admitted privately that for young pilots, so accustomed to having computers tell them what to do, their 737 was a difficult beast. One high-ranking Boeing executive told people that if he were flying in Asia, he would prefer to be on an Airbus.