Not all issues involving Boeings are created equal.
Boeing has been in the news a lot lately, and that’s partly because of me. As an aviation reporter, it’s my job to follow what’s going on at the company and update the public about any important developments. Where it gets a little muddier, though, is when some incident involves a Boeing airplane that is not specifically a Boeing Issue (caps intentional).
As a result of some very high-profile and serious safety incidents, Boeing is rightfully under a microscope now. But just because there’s a news appetite for it doesn’t mean that Boeing is responsible for everything that goes on with its aircraft once they leave the factory floor.
At a time when people are thinking about the planes they fly on more than usual, it can be hard to highlight relevant information without misleading readers into thinking there’s more malfeasance than there actually is.
It’s a newsroom conversation every time we see Boeing bubbling in news trends. My job is to hold Boeing accountable without fearmongering.
Aviation professionals agree that while Boeing and its practices deserve scrutiny, you should still feel alright flying on their planes.
So, let’s try to cut through the noise.
What’s wrong with Boeing?
“There are genuine worries about Boeing in terms of its performance as a company, its safety culture, its manufacturing culture,” Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of The Air Current, told me.
It’s hard to boil down the…
