It was an early Monday morning on Oct 29, 2018 that Boeing’s 737-MAX went down shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. It was the MAX’s first major accident. And the thought of this being a one-time accident was short-lived. Just less than five months later and roughly just six minutes after taking off from Bole Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, another MAX plane went down, shocking the world once again.
On March 10, 2019, Boeing’s MAX crashed into the ground about 40 miles away from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers, leaving family members mourning, customers speculating, and Boeing searching for an explanation.
The FAA announced that there was indeed a link between the two crashes, as evidence showed problems with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), causing pilots to lose control. And, in the ensuing months following the second crash, Boeing was prohibited from flying the MAX. The FAA officially ordered an “emergency order of prohibition grounding 737 MAX aircraft.” While facing the onslaught of lawsuits, federal regulators, a declining stock value, Boeing scrambled for a solution. While trying to find that solution, those months dragged on for 20 months of prohibition.
Nearly two years after those indelible crashes, Boeing’s MAX was back on the scene. A number of improvements were made to the new model, including its software, electrical system, operational manuals, and employee training. Boeing also shelled out 1.4 billion dollars to each family of the victims. It was apparently enough to convince Europe’s Aviation Authority (EAA), who have given Boeing the green light for meeting the aviation requirements. “Following extensive analysis by EASA, we have determined that the 737-MAX can safely return to service,” said EASA Executive Director, Patrick Ky.
So Boeing is back and the past is in the past? Well, not so fast. Boeing still has to overcome the last couple of years of a declining reputation to win the public’s trust back. Customers have still shown to be weary, and stockholders may not be fully convinced at its comeback and ability to return to its hay days. Boeing’s stock was nearly at $450 a stock in early 2019, prior to the crash in Ethiopia. Since then, it’s plummeted slowly to the mid $300s in mid 2019, to $300 at the beginning of 2020, and as low as $150 a stock in mid 2020.
But since then, there’s been a glimmer of hope, as the MAX has been refined and back in business, and its stock has risen to the $200 range in late 2020/early 2021. American Airlines ordered 34 MAXs with six planes in service, launching its first flight from Miami to New York on Dec 29, 2020. American Airlines claims customers fly on the MAX just as frequently as other models. But just as the stock began to slowly rise and customers began to board the MAX, the one thing that Boeing really could not afford to endure happened again — another crash in Indonesia on Feb 10, 2020 — this time, it was the 737-500.
This more recent crash in Indonesia carried 62 passengers and left no surviving passengers on its way to Pontianak from Jakarta, just four minutes after takeoff.
Luckily for Boeing, the underlying cause was not tied to its previous two crashes. This recent crash was the 737-500, which is an older, classical model. Preliminary investigations have suggested that an unbalanced level of thrust on its two engines may have played a role in the crash. But unluckily for passengers, no one could survive it. And for families of victims, simply indelible.
While families were still mourning, some were also dissatisfied with what they may see as just a slap on the wrist. While Boeing started flying high again, Brittney Riffel thinks it’s way too soon for this green light, who lost her husband, Melvin, in the crash. “We are putting our voice out there about Boeing and the FAA and their safety culture and how they put profits before human safety,” she says.
Paul Njorogre, who lost his wife and three children to the crash says that “My family died because of Boeing’s negligence, arrogance, and management dysfunction; and lack of internal oversight of the FAA”
The concern of Paul of Brittney proved to be legitimate when, after all this havoc and remediation, on April 7, Boeing announced another issue regarding the MAX’s electrical system, which resulted in world-wide ban. The FAA announced that the electrical system could affect the standby power control unit, a circuit breaker panel, and the main instrument panel.
After Boeing’s announcement, Southwest, American, and United Airlines removed more than 60 MAXs from service. “All of these airplanes remain on the ground while Boeing continues to develop a proposed fix,” the FAA says. “The FAA is in contact with the airlines and the manufacturer.”
Boeing faced over 100 lawsuits and pledged to pay $100 million through several years. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to criminal fines, to victims of families, and to customers who couldn’t fly because of its grounding.