I worked for Boeing for nearly 40 years. Retired in 2019. The problems all started when McDonnell Douglas “merged” with us. The whole business model changed from producing quality products to making more money. Period. Just as depicted in this piece. I saw it with my own eyes and lived it every day. So sad. I loved my company and it was like watching someone you love die from a slow and painful death.
That’s basically everything now. Keep them shareholders happy at all costs…few crashed planes, layoffs, outsourcing to low quality subs. Capitalism has its downsides.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with making more money. But there’s different ways to do it. Building a bigger and better business that builds great products is generally a good thing. Slowly running the business into the ground by solely focusing on maximizing quarterly profit is generally a bad thing.
@@8__vv__8 the biggest (red, sore, pus-filled) problem is the system that, not only allows, but encourages to prioritize shareholder value. That system is stock trading.
I worked at Boeing as an Aerospace Engineer on the 787 program and was retaliated against when I disclosed to the FAA that a flight critical component didn't meet the quality and structural integrity requirements.
RIP Pius Adabola Adesanmi, who was one of my university professors at Carleton University and who died in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on a Boeing 737 Max. He was a funny, lighthearted, and intelligent man who taught African Literature. I've heard his family is suing The Boeing Company for this tragic accident. May in rest in brilliance.
My uncle is an engineer at Boeing. I remember, about a decade ago, having a conversation with him about how the old board, who were mostly other engineers, were all gone. They were replaced by the usual corporate types who didn’t seem to understand that you can’t cut corners in aviation.
Ummm otay... Lets review. Engineering is the practice of creating a solution that addresses a challenge with minimal resources. It has ALWAYS been the core principle of engineering. Always dealing with constraints. Based on your tribalistic view... we should forge one single billet and whittle a plane out of it... you know because "cutting corners" is dumb. Oh and lets be VERY CLEAR. Cutting corners literally saves lives. Failure to chamfer or radius structures creates stress risers that really enjoy sudden and catastrophic failures well below the materials yield strength.
@@Katchi_ Are you purposely being obtuse or do you honestly think that Boeing's engineers that built a reputation of excellence and well-crafted jets over several decades of existence somehow became better when a bunch of bean counters shifted their priorities to the bottom line? If that were the case, there would be no change and these recent horrible incidents wouldn't have happened. Using a software patch to "correct" a design flaw is insane.
I'm an engineering student in Seattle, and took a class this quarter that brought in a bunch of Boeing employees as mentors for us. The midterm for the class was a presentation in front of about a dozen Boeing engineers. One group was presenting on fasteners, and got to the topic of torque wrenches, which tell you how tight a bolt is when you tighten it. This dude, standing in front of all these Boeing engineers, says "torque wrenches are important because if the bolt is too tight, then it will put stress on the bolt, and if it's too loose, then you could lose a part... like a door." The reactions from the mentors were priceless.
I'm supporting a medical device company that has critical elements within it that must stay attached. Can't say much more about it, but it's not just airplanes where proper use of fasteners or adhesives matter. Good luck with your studies, and for gosh sake, keep your integrity! Maintain your pride in your work and if that's not rewarded, look for new opportunities.
Yeah, I'm in Pullman and WSU will occasionally host something for Boeing... basically roll out the red carpet for them and either their engineers, marketing team, or business heads come in and act as "mentors". I also find that a test grade dependent on how you perform to a Boeing employee is ridiculous. What I want to know is... "Who the fuck said you Boeing guys were so good?" You know there are other companies out there with good engineers and better management who don't put profits above people. Why are these schools in fucking bed with Boeing anyway, or did they just get short-sighted creatively, and figure they'd pick Boeing cuz they stand out like the Golden Arches in the state of Washington. I guess if you're an aeronautics or aerodynamics major, presenting to Boeing kind of makes sense. Otherwise, I'd tell both Boeing and my school to eff off, and if I'm a good student then I can figure out a better place to have my project peer reviewed. Anyway good luck man... own the industry. Don't let them own you.
you can't have that happen at cruising altitude because the vacuum will stop the door from even being able to open the air pressure literally won't let you pop the door
I feel like "We went to business school. Get on our plane!" aptly encapsulates not just the enshittification of aircraft, but also the enshittification of pretty much everything from dating apps to video games, to taxis, to hotels, to movies, and beyond.
The number one thing they teach in business schools is “A company’s primary responsibility is to its shareholders” This is where that teaching has gotten us
With enshittification comes affordability, and despite people's complaints, we like that. Without enshittification, a basic TV would cost about $1,500 instead of $300. What we need to do is re-establish our priorities and demand certain safety-sensitive industries back out of that enshittification model. But how?
@@beenaplumber8379...nah. This is just bullshit, through-and-through. 1. The kind of "enshittification" we're talking about here primarily passes savings onto shareholders, _NOT_ customers. In fact, it's often directly at the expense of customers. Raising prices more than necessary in response to inflation and supply-chain complications; maintaining the same prices on certain products while trying to sneakily use cheaper, lower-quality materials; etc. 2. There is a difference between making processes more efficient, and seeing which genuinely detrimental changes you can get away with. The former does often require people with knowledge of organizational principles and operations, that's true. But the point is to leave quality unchanged, or at least within acceptable margins that customers agree to as a compromise for the reduced price. What we're seeing is worsening conditions for no customer benefit. I remember when Guitar Center was bought out by a capital holdings firm. You know what happened? They started aggressively pushing predatory in-store credit cards, and pressuring employees to rope customers in to the program. Do you know what didn't happen? Reduced prices. This is the kind of shit we're talking about. You can always choose to end your relationship with a favorite company and shop somewhere else, but there are two issues there: people can't always tell when the quality of materials has gotten worse without independent tests, and this enshittification is becoming more and more pervasive. Many have switched to a different company, only for the new company to undergo similar shifts/takeovers not long after. This has been my partner's experience with skincare products. Frankly, I think you just don't know what you're talking about here, and feel some odd need to defend the head assholes in charge. Perhaps "something something STICKING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF UNREGULATED MARKETS something something".
@@TheNorthHawk World War 3 is brewing... legit... US gave Ukraine longer range ATACAMs so Russia went "guess anyone that wants some similar equipment, especially those who dislike the US, get a discount."
My dad has a degree in chemistry and worked as a manager. He always said: "It is much easier to teach an engineer some accounting than to teach an MBA science."
@@Kelly-ju1kw the best thing we can do to spam our senators and the doj with well written emails to use their influence to reregulate the aerospace industry, and use their influence to influence to doj and FBI to investigate Boeings executives. Here's a sample Dear Senator, I am writing to urgently request your office's intervention in launching thorough investigations into Boeing and its executives, highlighting the imperative nature of holding these individuals accountable for their actions. Recent events have vividly underscored the dire need for transparency and accountability within the upper echelons of the company. The aerospace industry plays an indispensable role in ensuring the safety and security of millions of passengers globally. It has become glaringly evident, however, that Boeing and its executives have been prioritizing shareholder stock buybacks and maximizing profits over safety concerns, resulting in egregious negligence that has had catastrophic consequences. The repeated instances of negligence, such as those unveiled in the wake of the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, point to a disturbing trend where safety takes a backseat to profit margins. It is unacceptable that corporate interests are allowed to supersede the well-being and safety of passengers and crew members. Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of whistleblower John Barnett raise serious questions about the integrity and ethics within Boeing's corporate culture. Mr. Barnett's untimely death occurred before he could finish his testimony, and it strains credulity to accept that he would have committed suicide under such circumstances. The abrupt end to his testimony and the apparent inconsistencies surrounding his death demand a thorough investigation to uncover the truth. Additionally, it is evident that the previous presidential administrations' decisions to deregulate the aerospace industry have been a colossal mistake. Deregulation has created an environment where profit motives often overshadow safety considerations, leading to disastrous outcomes. I urge you to advocate for new congressional laws and regulations that prioritize safety and accountability within the aerospace industry, ensuring that incidents like those involving Boeing are prevented in the future. I implore you not only to take decisive action within Congress but also to utilize your influence to urge appropriate agencies such as the FBI and DOJ to conduct comprehensive investigations into these matters. It is imperative that Boeing executives are held accountable for their decisions and actions, and that justice is served for the victims and their families. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I trust in your commitment to upholding the principles of accountability, transparency, and public safety.
My uncle was a quality inspector at Boeing for years. His job was to look at what work had been done, compare it to the blue prints, and write up corrections. He said that management had attempted to get rid of his department for years because they represented an additional cost in the manufacturing process.
There is no KPI for events that proper quality assurance prevented from happening (no way to measure that). Todays management does not comprehend/care, because when the backlash comes, they are already ramming a different company into the ground. Sad.
"The employees feared retaliation for raising safety related concerns." -> Boeing whisteblower was just found dead today. I wonder if John needs to do a follow up video.
No. I'm so tired of the Internet being overrun with baseless conspiracy theories. You're insinuating that he was killed deliberately. An accusation like that demands serious evidence, and there isn't any. Until that changes, it's irresponsible to float things like this.
Wow, as an retired employee of Boeing from the time of the merger I can tell you that everything that was said about profit over safety, quantity over quality is true. During these years employee morale was at its lowest ever. They even were hiring managers from fast food restaurants as managers in the manufacturing side. I’ve been gone for years and had hoped things had improved, guess not.
😆 Nope, they definitely have not… At my old company we used to joke that your test pilots were better at finding integration issues with our engines than we were, but the days of that kind of thoroughness & attention to detail are long gone I’m afraid.
@@jpoeng And the so called FAA quality inspectors that Boeing employed is misleading, they were employees first and trained to be inspectors. So you could have some guy who installed rivets one day end up being an inspector after some training supplies by Boeing themselves. I actually wonder if the inspectors ever saw someone who was from the FAA
@@keithsalter6832 The FAA has confirmed as much when the first MAX 8 went down. They confessed they didn't have the manpower to execute mandatory checks and certification which they allowed the manufacturer to do themselves and then just rubber stamped them.
@@yoeriw7099 True, around the time I left they were starting a new program where the employee doing the work would inspect and buy off his own inspection, with an actual inspector checking say 5 out of a hundred parts. I don’t know if they continued doing this but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s still done today.
@@keithsalter6832 that sounds on brand. Also that they asked the FAA for dispensation for the MAX 7 because they have a fix in a bit, is just crazy. It's only the engine cowls blowing up right and only when the engine anti-ice is on, so that's not a safety risk at all /s
As an Aerospace Engineer, I can tell you that John's description of the 737 Max design issues and subsequent MCAS problems were spot on, technically accurate, and presented in a language that is easily understood by non technical individuals. Now why can't actual journalists and media outlets do the same?
He missed the quality issue with snowman holes in the fuselage beams on the NG (Al Jazeera made "On a wing and a prayer" about it), and did not clarify that the "fixed" MAX still has stab trim cutoff switches wired differently than the NG, making recovery from runaway trim much harder. Basically, the second MAX crash happened because the pilots could not move the stab trim wheel with their hands while trying to pull up.
Because almost the entirety of the Fourth Estate has been purchased by a few monopolists who are themselves 100% concerned with shareholder wealth, manipulating public opinion to sell their preferred politicians, and pushing citizens to overspend on consumer goods they don't need due to FoMO. John Oliver is a rare exception and it is extremely telling that the only way to get real critical-thinking based coverage of serious issues is to do so under the guise of a comedy show.
These problems were extensively described in the media only two years ago, after the two crashes. Why do all the same media start this story as if this is the first hick up. Only in redactional pieces they start bringing up the already known issue of corporate culture. The story of this accident should have been: Corporate culture in Boeing still not turned around, despite the two crashes years ago.
Before the Malaysian flight went down, my cousin had been an engineer at Boeing. He left because very powerful people would stand over him insisting that he approve plans that he refused to approve because he knew that they were unsafe.
While I was in the middle of watching this video, I saw a BBC report about the mysterious death of a Boeing whistleblower. Goosebumps, literal goosebumps...
Boeing also got angry after Brazilian jet manufacturer EMBRAER, spark concerns over Booeng outdated equipment and poor support when pilots denounce issues. If you are EMBRAER, well know not by luxury and comfort for your jets but first: safety, you wouldn't hold Boieng hands by any sum. EMBRAER demands 3: pilot, co-pilot and beholder for high-end flight softwares used to make your products even safer. Tends to make it expensive ans Boeing are not interested into high-end flight tech, let alone a third and expensive person to make your flights even better ans safer.
John Barnett. Had been with Boeing for over 30 years. Worked at 787 plant in Charleston, SC since 2010. Supposed cause of death: self-inflicted gunshot wound.
I'm on a trip right now. Nothing makes me more encouraged than seeing a John Oliver video on Airplanes, and thinking 'uh oh. This can't be good' and being completely right.
I was a higher up in multiple tech companies over the last few years. I can promise you that this is not satire. Some of the shit I heard was so evil that it has changed me forever.
I feel like people just don't care anymore. A company just offs two people and there are no repercussions. No big outcry. People are fine with their capitalist overlords. We even let them destroy our planet for profit, and eagerly eat up the scraps and the lies.
@@boodesultan12 Before that time in the 80s and early 90s, he and my mother both worked for Boeing. He did engine repairs, and she manufactured the wings and tail. They both felt safe and secure flying on them then and had nothing but good things to say about working for the company. But when he made us stop in the 2000s, he just said that they no longer valued the workers and were focused more on quantity over the quality of the planes. He never told me more than that.
Quality escape? Reminds me when I worked for a large company and for legal purposes I had to use the phrase "thermal event" instead of "fire" whenever I wrote a report. Like the time we had a thermal event so large it required the attention of the municipal thermal event response team who showed up in their bright red thermal event suppression vehicle.
I flew to DC a few months ago in May, and that was exactly what I said to some friends before we left for the airport. My heart dropped to Hades after seeing the plane we would be on was a Boeing.
Then you get to your flight and turns out it's delayed, but not to worry! They have another plane coming in that'll replace it to take you to your destination! Just please don't ask what type of plane it is.
@zqxzqxzqx1 just fly spirit or Frontier, sure the seats are worse and you don't get the bells and whistles. But they are both all airbus and you won't be risking your life
We had a lot of docs, nurses and staff quit b/c at Lovelace Hopsital, that became our motto, "building sharevalue" ahead of our patients. New Mexico has this same problem hospitals carting patients to the side of the road for non-payment. Lovelace actually got caught w/ they declared it in their shareholder meeting they dont care about patients... only profit.
That is essentially what the share market represents, A means by which to influence people against their own best interests in the pursuit of monetary gain.
@@greggasiorowski1326- Until? No no, monopolies are the natural resting state of unregulated capitalism. That capitalism must involve competition is a myth.
@@greggasiorowski1326I think both you guys made the same statement that competition thrives capitalism so if only a few or one companies controll the entire market you cannot speak of capitalism
stop with these unproven conspiracies. You don't KNOW what happened do you? Your type of people is the main reason why the US is going down the shitter. Congratulations........you can shout out the conspiracies as you drown in your own excrement - it's not going to make them more true.
I worked for Boeing for 5 years from 8/88 to 8/93. I learned a lot. Assembly Machinist, then CNC Machinist. Quality was good. I was laid off for over 3 years before a call-back. I'm glad I had moved on. I never looked back. Corporate greed caused every crash.
Blood on their hands. There really should be more than 2 companies making planes, if capitalism breeds innovation and loves competition. Turns out unregulated capitalism is monopolistic and dangerous.
My father is a quality inspector for Boeing. He was fired from his position (and moved to another thanks to the union) for flagging something outside of deviation.
@@ramongutierrez-gq4cq My father has been in the union for over three decades. He has a pension. He makes over three figures a year. It was a career he took up when he wanted to step away from being an electrician. The next generation that he is training is getting the same starting wages that he started on in the 90's. They have no pension. The retirement and healthcare coverage has been gutted. The pay raises have been whittled down by half. With the military planes being added on last minute Boeing requires overtime and these new employees don't get to take a weekend. My father caught a manager telling a floor worker "You are all replaceable". Boeing is no longer offering career opportunities. There is no "heart" to give in the midst of such disrespect.
As a former aerospace engineer I can say John Oliver provided the best explanation of the engineering mistakes made with the Boeing Max 8 that I have seen
I work for a ground services company and certain planes/builders worry me. People touching and putting people in planes should be able to stop a flight from safety (they tell us this in training) but then put all the MONEY they might lose on you... So can you actually stop flights; probably not. It's just all about money.
Most of my family worked at Boeing; my dad worked there for much of his life. He helped build the 777 back in the 90s and was extremely proud of it. I remember being in 6th grade when my dad came to talk to my class about his job and hand out buttons and things all related to the new 777. I was really proud of him as well. After that though, I watched my dad slowly lose his pride in his work at the company, unhappy with all the changes that were being made though I didn't really know the specifics of what was going on. As he got older, they increased his work time, increased travel time by switching plants and things several times, did a lot of changes that made him feel like they were trying to push him out. He stuck it out until 2015 and just managed to get the retirement plan before they ended it. He died last year and I feel so sad seeing what happened to my dad and the company we used to love.
I'm so sorry about your dad. I suppose he's was not the only one having the same experiences by working at Boeing and watching them go downhill fast and furious. Plane crashes are undoable.
As an Aerospace Quality Engineering Technician, This makes me really grateful to be a part of the Airbus/Pratt and Whitney Supply chain, Yes quality issues happen all the time. HOWEVER, they are always taken very seriously, and we have never been pressured to sweep anything under the rug... but we make engine parts, i have no idea what its like working with teams from software, airframe ect.
It's very sad that we think positively of a company that just...does its job properly. Goes to show how inhuman these people have to be when even someone doing the bare minimum is a saint compared to them.
That’s great to hear, I also work in the industry and QE is critical. I hadn’t seen the clip of Dave Calhoun at 1:34, it sounded like he didn’t know how to describe what an escape is. I’d be interested to hear him questioned more about design and quality practices, to see if he understands the details of how these products are made, and where the challenges are. If he can’t, I think that’s disqualifying.
I'm an Aerospace Machinist at a company who makes parts for Boeing among others and I see this kind of thing every day. The parts in your plane were most likely built by someone with a month's experience that the company refused to train to save money.
100%true , I was a machinist at Boeing contractors for 15 years before getting a job at Boeing. The management culture at both are absolutely terrible.
As a child of first cousins this episode not only made me knowledgeable about the aircraft industry but also gave me many jokes that I can use on my parents. Thank you, John Oliver.
I'm currently reading "When McKinsey comes to town" and it's one example after another where companies killed people in the pursuit of bigger profits for shareholders. The shareholder system should be banned worldwide.
Congress needs to take some of the blame for defunding the FAA. Also we need to decouple C level compensation from the stock price. That will fix it for good. Heck that will fix America and curb the rampant greed
"And you know things are bad when the general public is getting this knowledgeable about specific plane models." Boy does that ever sum up the situation, hahah
Yeah, we shouldn't have to have that level of knowledge about our planes or our rideshare cars either. Almost like capitalism needs government to regulate it.
The amount of footage from “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” just shows how definitive it is on Boeing’s issues. Absolute masterpiece of a documentary in my opinion. I think everyone watching this episode should watch it
I really hope that HBO Reallizes what they have here. This is one of if NOT THE BEST SHOW of it's kind on tv today. It's on its way of being the likes of 60 Minutes or Frontline but with really good humor thrown in. Once again JOHN KILLED IT 👍
yes this is exactly the priority of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by a larger corporate conglomerate. you know, the geniuses who got rid of the prized brand name "hbo" that you still use
John actually said warner wants to get rid of him so badly but the amount of emmys he wins each year basically gives him immunity. They hate him and he hates them which is why he trashes them every chance he gets. He's got warner by the balls and he loves it
The only thing that would tank Boeing is if the EU or other nations ban Boeing from it's airspace and landing at any of its airports. That would be a huge lost, leaving airlines only with Airbus. But if Airbus is the only company in the game the quality could go down too.
I was once a Boeing employee in a safety based role. I was told by my direct leader that we could cut corners because we can "count on the other engineers to have done their job." I pointed out that we were the Boeing engineers counted on to do our jobs. You can see how his attitude would lead to systemic issues.
pretty much everyone in a management role is an idiot who is the son of some guy who used to be important.. its up to us smart asses that no one appreciates and society craps all over to keep this whole thing together.. hopefully ai will replace these smooth brains soon..
And Boeing is only getting worse from here considering a second whistleblower just died after blowing the whistle on Boeing's shoddy manufacturing. This needs a follow up video
This is heartbreaking. My Dad went to engineering college on the GI bill after WWII. He worked at various divisions at Boeing, virtually his whole life, in Seattle, Wichita and Phila. He was so proud of Boeing, that he made me read a book about the history of Boeing, published in the late 60's, when I was in high school. It is so disturbing how greed has destroyed this company and many others
I'm old enough to remember when stock value was tied to the value of the product made and the strength of a company which included strong employment with salaries and benefits tied to productivity. This of course was when higher taxes made companies use profits to reinvest back into the company and employee retention - back before trickle-down economic theory, stock buybacks, short sellers, commodification of food and shelter ... and now medical services and everything else that has degraded our society into the Gilded Age 2.0
Your father and his peers are proof that Boeing can make tons of profit while making quality products and workers with thriving lives and long careers. Any excuse not to is just that, and to feed the greedy overburdened with wealth.
One I saw in a different comment, "Boeing is the sound the door makes when it flies off the hinges and into the sky at 30000 feet" Also, given what happened to some of the other Whistleblowers, Mysterious disappearances and a confirmed "Suicide" maybe you shouldn't blow the whistle on them anymore....
I live near one of the Boeing plants, and know several workers. One story I heard that highlights some of the issues in the companywas there was a meeting to discuss software issues with a plane (i think it was the 777) and the engineers were trying to explain the problem. A VP said "I dont care, just ship it". The engineer presenting got super pissed, and after figuring out the VP literally did not understand, told him "The plane wont turn on with this issue, you literally can not ship it because it can not even move!" The VP apparently stormed out of the room. People looked up the VP afterwards , and found that his experience prior to that position was at a company that sold shampoo.
Maybe we should stop hiring silver-tongued cretins with ego issues and just hire some super passionate engineer who sleeps with a calculator under his pillow to be the executive. You see this in every industry because hiring priorities are fucked. They actively select against quiet but brilliant nerds and hire only narcissists with motor mouths.
This checks out. I had friends and relatives work for this company. The pay is garbage, they cycle through workers like it's a revolving door, and everyone at the top is only looking out for the shareholders and not the quality of the product. If they don't care about their own employees, you can imagine how they treat the process of making the planes. I turned down their job offer of a measly $25 an hour. I have a degree and would've been working with engineers, designers, and the QCs. After hearing from the employees that they can't keep workers because low pay, low quality, and everything being rushed,... I declined the job in Everett. Boeing isn't what they used to be.
11 March 2024 A former Boeing employee known for raising concerns about the firm's production standards has been found dead in the US. (BBC) John Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017. In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company.
This is absolutely true! I just looked on the BBC website and this story is real. He was found dead in his truck in his hotel parking lot. Boeing says they are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing. Yeah, I'll bet they are. Why is this a BBC story and not an American story? Funny how this man was due to undergo further questions on Saturday pertaining to the poor quality issues at Boeing. Now he's dead. Hmm.
Yep. He was the quality control guy from Downfall on Netflix. At BEST, the corporate culture at Boeing led a man to take his own life rather than enjoy his retirement. At worst, Boeing unalived a whistleblower.
@ashleymeggan Are you making the assumption that this man took his own life? More likely that someone at Boeing contracted someone to (take care of business) for them. Remember, this guy was a whistle-blower.
@@glnnchrstphr9717 and remember they are not just a commercial aircraft builder. They have Mercs at the ready to do their bidding. Defense contractors, contract kill.
This happens all over. Businessmen whose only thoughts are about cutting costs, cutting corners, and filling the pockets of shareholders are put in charge of something they know nothing about and end up slowly killing the company.
@@total_war88 no 787s or 737s for us any more! We feel lucky to have survived four 737 flights in January getting to Hawaii and back, over the ocean for 6 hours on two of those flights!
Because in America the official definition of corruption is so narrow and easy to bypass that it might as well be legal. Every one of these murderous MBA SOBs has friends in high places and it helps a lot
Because Republicans want more deregulation. Remember, that the FAA let Boeing do self inspection/sign-off on it's manufacturing process... because.... big government is the root of all evil!!!! The FAA didn't even know what MCAS was for a while after the first MCAS crash.
I think it's cuz they can hide behind the company if it's an LLC (limited liability company). And most corporations are. So if their lawyers are good they can avoid liability for knowingly taking actions that kill people.
@@sonneh86 😂 There is definitely a deeper story there. It’s like someone at McDonell Douglas infiltrated Boeing and convinced them to buy the company, and then commenced an internal takeover.
I love the topics John picks and that he doesn't run after the stupid nonsense of the politics of the day. I don't know if this is just a comedy show because to me, this is one of the highest forms of true journalism. Extremely important topics and a highly enlightening presentation while also being entertaining and funny. Good job to the entire team!
this guy committed suicide just like Jeffrey Epstein did. the difference is, this was a good hard working man who never hurt anybody. Epstein was a sex trafficking AH. the public is going to care a lot more about him. there must be a full and impartial investigation into this "suicide".@@cheebalu74
I’m from Seattle and remember when Boeing was a company we could be proud of. My friends and family members who work for or worked for Boeing say everything changed when McDonnell Douglas’ management took over and changed the whole modus operandi and it went from pride in engineering to greed greed greed! So I think you’re right to point that out because that’s what the old timers report. It sure had a long good run under the Boeing way, it’s so sad to see what’s happened to it now under the McDonnell Douglas fiasco of a management style, especially since it involves hurtling people through the sky at incredible speeds.
Boeing used to be the pride and joy of this city. Nowadays we're best known for tech companies that are slowly trying to kill us all. I have a friend who worked at the Boeing factory as a riveter, after the merger he got the hell out as fast as he could. Now he's an IT guy. If that's not a great metaphor for the state of Seattle I don't know what is.
> The fact that the Kayak airplane filter has gone up in usage is wild and very telling And the reason I'll be using Kayak and other companies that will allow me to fly exclusively on Airbus planes easily. If it's Boeing, I'm canceling my trip.
And sadly now John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who was a whistleblower sharing concerns about the company’s production standards, was just found dead. Prayers for him and his loved ones 🙏🏾😢
I worked for a Boeing contractor that made parts for the 737 max. We were actually really big on safety. It was a major part of on boarding and a frequent part of discussions with engineers and QA. We knew that people's live could literally be on the line. Even before we knew the cause of the Indonesian flight crash, we slowed (though not stopped) production to review safety procedures. It's frustrating, and heartbreaking, that it wasn't a concern for Boeing and other contractors.
Saying how good an aerospace manufacturer is about safety is like saying how good you are at not shitting your pants. It's really cool and I loved the safety culture in my own aerospace profession (USAF, crew chief) but it's a little concerning that it's something that sets you apart from the other contractors and Boeing.
I have worked in Quality for over 25 years. I have worked for a consulting company that was a subcontractor for Boeing. The ask from Boeing when working a contract with us was to get to the cheapest price possible. Cutting quality inspections was the top of the list. I no longer work in that space,but Boeing isn’t the only company sacrificing quality for profits time after time. Finance is involved more and more in making technical decisions that should be at the sole discretion of technical staff. It’s ridiculously frustrating. I can’t wait to retire.
The irony is if Boeing had just stuck to the culture of delivering a quality product the stock price would probably just take care of itself. Taking shortcuts and the focus off the most important things always ends poorly
If you've been working aerospace that whole time, then you've been overspending on unnecessary inspections, too. It's industry wide. I've also worked quality for a long time, and I recently made the jump to aero/defense and can't believe the amount of waste I see across the industry. You don't have to sacrifice quality to reduce the cost of inspections, especially at the component level.
@dylanwirtz869 You are absolutely right. Unfortunately investors that drive companies into the ground like this don't want to hear about a well-crafted long-term plan that guarantees slow but steady growth while maintaining a quality product. They demand instant gratification through quick profits earned by any means necessary, never looking further than the next quarter. They aren't invested in the companies future and cash out as soon as the results of their greed come to fruition.
It amazes me how LWT and John Oliver can be so funny, yet so accurate with their reporting. I've spent most of my career as both an airline mechanic and Boeing employee. I've seen the cultural change at Boeing firsthand. I started my career being proud of the safety culture in commercial aviation and ended my career disillusioned and bitter at the profit first mentality management had adopted.
Yep. Funny, accurate AND succinct. The way John Oliver connected all these events with share price brought a lot of clarity to the sad situation. I feel compelled to say that when I was hired at Boeing as an entry-level employee 12 years ago, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the finest people I've ever met. And I'm still extremely happy here. That cultural decline started at the top and hasn't really reached me yet.
As a 30 year Boeing employee, retired for 16 years, I'd say this was pretty spot on. On merger day we went to a big 'celebration' where after the speeches we were fed hamburgers. The worst hamburger I've ever had, 30% filler. My nickname for Condit was Phil-the-condom.
That’s was a super hot day in the Puget Sound. I distinctly remember driving home and having to pull over halfway home to puke out that “Merger Burger”
All my family used to fly a lot. Thank you for the good work you and the good old Boeing employees did. I'm so glad my flying days are over. If you can't even do a hamburger you have no business building planes.
I find this one of the saddest American business stories. William Boeing was a visionary and a great man. The company was a pillar of aviation and a beacon of corporate integrity and greatness for over 70 years. To see it reduced to this is crushing. In an industry where mistakes will cause the death of every unfortinate soul on board, it simply doesn't allow for concentrating on anything other than engineering excellence. Boeing is one of the most important American companies and they have set a torch to it. It breaks my heart.
@@owen-tromboneNo. I'm a 65 year old paraplegic living in Charlotte. I am retired and worked in food service and then IT. I love history, particle physics and baseball. I've had a fascination with aviation and have the time to read. I'm just some joe with an opinion.
I find it emblematic of the corruption penetrating U.S. political and economic world. Boeing is just an example that people in power don't work for the common good or excellence but are faking stuff and lying and stealing and there are no repercussions. And then at some point the lies are due and people start dying. That is why I predict U.S. empire is beginning to crumble. It seems unable to fix the corruption as politicians are just in it to get some fame and money and are not there to make things better. What do the congressional hearings change in corporate culture? Nothing. No one at Boeing will be held responsible, just like when Purdue pharma and Sackler family and just like with the predatory lenders that instigated the financial crisis in 2008, or Epstein. And these are just the top of the iceberg. The bigger corruption is just hidden, slowly doing its work - like water doing its damage in surfside condo.
I appreciate citing the Al Jezzerah story that came out a decade ago now about the Dreamliner issues which was an excellent investigative story that didnt get enough attention in it's day. Also, Wendover makes the best video explaining jow the 737max came to be. It truly did the best job on the Max...
Not telling pilots about MCAS is wild. It's like not knowing your car has lane assist. When your steering wheel starts "correcting" and counter-steering, of course you're going to freak out.
considering MCAS forces the plane to land as fast as possible when it breaks (read: nosedive into the ground) of course they didn't tell anyone. pilots would've complained the plane was trying to kill them, the crew, and the passengers instead, they can have two planes have the inevitable problem, killing hundreds, then blame the pilots because the system was shrouded in secrecy. isn't unfettered capitalism grand?
@@the_bottomfraggerThis is why I'm glad my car doesn't have lane assist, and if I ever get one that does, first thing I'll do is find out how to turn it off. I've seen zero reasons to trust any kind of auto piloting system in cars with mine or my kids' lives.
@@Lewkis01 FYI Lane assist is not what they just described, it will never fuck up that badly. All it does is gently apply a tiny bit of pressure to the steering to keep you from drifting out of your lane, it will *never* overpower your inputs, the motor that controls it just isn't strong enough to do so
I had one decide to cut the throttle in the middle of passing on a two lane road with oncoming traffic. on multiple occasions Company car, we got rid of it at 40,000 miles after every driver (7) called it the Satan machine
"Let's risk your customers lives to make more money!" Some time ago, Boeing arranged an annual rowing competition with a Japanese company that would take place in a rowing eight on a river. Both teams trained long and hard to reach their highest level of performance. When the big day came, both teams were in top shape, but the Japanese won the race by a kilometer. After this defeat, the Boeing team was very affected. Morale was at its lowest point. Top management immediately decided to find out the reason for this crushing defeat. An internal project group made up of experts from various departments across the group was set up to investigate the problem and recommend appropriate remedial action. After lengthy research and analysis, it was found that the Japanese had seven people rowing and one man steering, while the Boeing team had one man rowing and seven steering. After a closed meeting, top management immediately hired a renowned consulting firm to carry out a study on the structure of the team. After several months and considerable expense, the consultants concluded that there were too many people steering and too few rowing. And again, after several conferences and meetings, Boeing management made an uncompromising, clear decision without hesitation. In order to create clear responsibilities, the team structure was radically reorganized. In addition to the rower, there were now four helmsmen, two senior helmsmen and a tax director. A performance evaluation system was also introduced for the rower to increase his motivation. “We need to expand his scope of duties and give him more responsibility.” The group's supervisory board awarded top management an additional bonus for their extraordinary efforts. The next year the Japanese won by two kilometers. Management responded promptly. It fired the rower for poor performance, sold the oars and stopped all investment in the boat. The money saved was paid to top management as a performance bonus. In order to improve the starting position for the next race, the management decided to have the boat certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001.
They don't care what they do because the government will just bail them out if they screw up too badly or if something that every other business has to deal with (pandemic, economic crisis) happens to them too, the pattern has been established- top execs can still take lots of money, have no consequences, and stay in business by holding millions of employees' jobs hostage, and the US Gov't has to pay the ransom.
How the hell does the CEO of Boeing know so little about quality that he can't answer that question. The correct answer is something along the lines of "We have a rigorous quality control process that strives for zero defects. Any error in the manufacturing process that leads to a failure in service is unacceptable, and should a failure happen we refer to it as an escape from our accepted standard."
Former quality control manager John Barnett tried to warn us, last week he was found dead with "self-inflicted wound" the day before his questioning in Charleston. RIP Hero!
The whole story: he had given a days deposition. He planned on driving back up to his mothers house that evening. Boeing officials told him they wanted to finish the deposition the next day- to not leave. So he went to the hotel and then was found dead of gunshot wound in his car in the hotel parking lot.
@@Elysian777 And he told at least one friend: "If I committed suicide - don't believe it!" There are already vids out about this. With so much money on the line - ~100k for a good hitman is money well spent. Of course - it might be someone inside Boeing. Or, somebody with a lot of money for many shares and no conscience. We're talking hundreds of millions here. Buy - kill - sell. Easy.
So to summarize: Boeing actually stopped existing in the late 90's and for the past 20 year's we've just had McDonnell Douglas with the Boeing name slapped on it like a sticker... and in that time they've given us McDonnell Douglas quality while trying to ride the previously established quality recognition the Boeing name was know for...
And imagine being proud of that. The amount of flight disaster documentaries that I watched in the 2000s with MD planes but not Boeing unless it was pilot error makes me feel like it was propaganda all along. Imagine that
Are you suggesting that à la survival of the fittest principle the legacy Boeing people were so weak they just got wiped out in favor of the McDD people?
@@MM126.90 I googled Boeing to see their logo and instead found articles about parts of an engine falling off and that they hid another feature from pilots that automatically opens the cockpit door when the airpressure drops.
There is a general misunderstanding about business majors (or MBA). This was meant for people who already have subject matter expertise, and want to learn the business side. For example I am an engineer, but I’m promoted to management. Or I learned everything about construction at my family’s construction company, and later I need to take the company over. Business degree alone is worthless.
@@juzoli I actually did take a business admin course. It did not even take a month into it before I could boil down what the materials taught into this: "How to do illegal and especially dangerous/evil sh^t and get away with it." That experience with that course taught me the most important thing about wanting to run a good business - i.e. one that cares about its products, employees, and/or customers (though if you care about just one of these, you probably care about _all_ of them): _NEVER_ trust *_ANYONE_* who went to any sort of business school, especially not if business school is the _only_ higher education they got.
What are you talking about, this entire bit is based on "mainstream journalists" work. There is no original investigations here by John Oliver, he just added the jokes, all the factual parts are taken from mainstream news channels. You can even see all the sources when they play the clips.
I was a flight attendant during the time the 737 Max was released and it’s chilling to think about all the times I flew on this plane, all the while trying to ignore the news stories about other flights that had crashed. We were being lied to and told we were safe when we actually weren’t.
You were probably safe from the MCAS problem. 737max models sold in the North American market did not have the single sensor problem. That was a problem on planes sold to lower cost airlines, mostly in Africa or Asia. Other quality problems obviously were still present.
So I wonder if the meeting went something like; 'Any of the questionable aircraft will be sent to Asia and Africa. No one is going to care too much about them '.
@@dinochiesa3787What? I’m a flight attendant, there is no Max plane that doesn’t have 1, as in singular, angle of attack sensor. That’s what a Max is. There is no other variation of Max that doesn’t have MCAS and/or more than 1 angle of attack sensor. If you fly on a Max, it’s the same type of plane sold anywhere in the world. I don’t know who told you otherwise but they were misinformed
@@Cometcast12ooo, thanks for the information. I don’t know why I thought that airplanes sold to lower cost airlines had different AoA & MCAS setups than the airplanes sold to US airlines. Hm.
I have a military contractor friend that describes working with Boeing as working with "a bunch of frat bros in charge of millions of dollars of equipment"
I don't think it's their fault; Boeing's managerial negligence is to blame. For example, they've been cutting jobs for years now, and overworking those still there as a result.
@@Sbinott0 In my experience, working level folks of all functions were the most focused on the safety & reliability of the products. Upper management, not so much. And it all breaks down when middle management doesn’t have the courage or ability to push back on top level BS or communicate effectively/truthfully in either direction.
About half a decade ago I had worked for a Boeing vendor in Seattle, made the plastic parts that went into overhead bins/windows/tray tables and a lot more. A lot of our stuff was made in China from a 'partner' company and the companies QC was so bad we lost our AS9100 certification multiple times. That's one vendor, I can't imagine the QC process at Boeing itself.
Imagine, the 737 Wing is built in China by a sub-contractor. They won the contract because it takes a person of very short stature to climb inside the wing's fuel tanks to weld it from the inside.
Month later, another whistleblower is down, this time to a sudden onset of bacterial infection. Either Boeing is WILDLY unlucky that all the whistleblowers are suddenly getting toe tagged, or it is getting creative.
This is tragic to see. My grandpa retired from Boeing in 1995, shortly before that merger and before the company spiraled out of quality control, and he was so proud to have worked on planes for over 30 years, and his enthusiasm for planes was felt by multiple generations of my family. The whole reason we lived in the Pacific Northwest at all was because he worked for Boeing, and regularly, he used to take my cousins and I to the Boeing Museum of Flight to share his passion for engineering with us. Before he passed away last year, he did mention to me how disappointed and devastated he was in Boeing as the last decade and a half has slowly tarnished the company he once proudly worked for. As someone who wants to see this company succeed so we can all continue to fly safely in the future, here’s hoping they can get their shit together.
Thank you for writing, may your Pops RIP 🌹 My Dad came out in the late 60s to interview, but he turned it down, returned to Detroit, and in subsequent years, never let us fly on a Boeing craft. 🤝🇺🇲
My mother worked for Lockheed. That sense of security and pride that employees felt in the 90’s seems to have vanished. American craftsmanship isn’t entirely non present, perhaps just not as pronounced as it once was - and that is quite unfortunate.
This is so sad. The worst part is that the upper executives don't care because by the time it tanks, they've hoarded millions of dollars in their bank accounts.
I used to work in a lab that did quality control on aluminium that was sold to both Airbus and Boeing. I was always baffled with how little Audits we had for Boeing compared to Airbus. Where Airbus pretty much requires you to triple check and proof the validity of every number you put into a report Boeing was always more of a “yeah sure, if that is what you report us that probably is true” We could have written complete bs in our reports to Boeing and ironically it would have only come to light in an Airbus Audit…
@@JohnDoe-rl9ft What you describe is called Open Sourcing. The issue - you can not protect 'industrial secrets' with Open Source systems. Personally, I don't see that loss as a real threat but large companies cry about this all the time. To the point that Election Machines produced by big companies are filled with 'industrial secrets' they don't want anyone else to know about. There is perfectly good Open Sourced code out there, stuff we know is safe because *everyone and anyone* can audit it, but it will never be used.... because everyone can see everything.
@@JohnDoe-rl9ft Actually, that's exactly what happened. After the Ethiopia crash, Ethiopia government refused to send the blackbox to Boeing for analysis. Instead, they sent it to France and had it analyzed by Airbus.
"We went to business school." Once upon a time, business administration was under the domain of trade schools. Some four-year colleges provided it as a minor at the bachelor's degree level. Their philosophy was that knowing how to administer a business was not as important as knowing the business you wanted to administer.
That would make a lot of sense. My minor was in Business Administration with the same idea that it would be a good supplement. I kind of regret it because all of the classes were so underwhelming. They felt like remedial courses, namely their remedial maths requirement. I would even recommend to those struggling balancing their minor and major to consider switching to business admin since it was pretty minimal effort.
There’s nothing that gets me more irate than workplaces that are horrendously structured and have 3 million Band-Aid solutions instead of fixing the actual problem
Ultimately spending more money over time instead of just properly fixing the problem in the first place. But long term waste doesn’t impact quarterly reports as much as the proper solution would so this is okay. That’s capitalism baby!
And then society claiming that the government is the problem, the reason all these bad things happen to companies and needs to be less involved because Biden is an anti-christ... Don't forget about that
@@thegodplace7887 Other way around its lobbyists telling government that its cool, look at all the money they can save by letting them hire and fire their own inspectors. In fact SCOTUS has a case coming up about just that wether or not constition allows government to use its own workers to inspect companies or we should only be able to let them inspect their own shit lol
The part that gets me is that this is happening to every industry. I work as a maintenance manager for an apartment complex and the amount of work load that they expect on me and my technicians is ridiculous. They only care about profit, not about safety.
I briefly worked for the company that paints the planes for Boeing. I was initially interested to learn about the process, but left the job horrified by the fact that if the sanding wasn't perfectly even, the external metal panels might slowly rip off due to the force of the winds. And my managers and coworkers didn't even remotely seem to care.
As a retired Air Force acquisition manager I had a lot of interaction with aircraft manufacturers, 1990-1993.. Boeing, Lockheed, Beechcraft were the airframe makers. Of the three, Beechcraft was the most responsible and worked the hardest to attain quality standards. Lockheed was set in their ways but could be talked to. Boeing, on the other hand, was like they thought they knew more than we did, knew what we wanted more than we did, knew what we needed more than we did and always wanted to transfer a lot more money than we did. Cost overruns and product delays were the norms. None of this surprises me.
Glad to hear Beechcraft was representing! Their company has taken some weird turns historically, but I think they've done a great job designing and building great and innovative aircraft. I'm glad to hear their corporate culture was one of excellence while you worked with them.
@@coordi If the 30 minute video you are commenting under is anything to go by, they did not, in fact, know what the customer wanted or needed. If anyone needs to be checking their ego around here it’s you
@@NeoCreo1I think what they are saying is that you are referring to the time period before the merger, which was not discussed much in this video other than to say they had high standards. I think Oliver didn't mention why Boeing may have decided to merge with a company with a bad reputation, and this behavior you're talking about might be why. It sounds like they didn't strike the right balance between doing it right and making money, but the other company took it too far the other way.
@@coordiI hate to tell you this, but the customer knows what they need too. The manufacturer may not be able to provide what they need or may need to tweak things to realistically meet those needs, but that doesn’t change that the customer knows what they want and need. If someone asks for scented trash bags to help with the odor in the kitchen, offering odor control bags is within the realm of “I’m an expert and I think this will fit your needs better” but it doesn’t sound like that’s what was happening.
Omfg no way! I did not even recognise her! (always liked her when I was a kid) and yes, she did a fantabulous job, no wonder since shes a pro actress.@@justayoutuber1906
I love that remark of "I want to make products that have a global reach and a global impact" in the commercial talking over the footage of a hypersonic missle at 5:06.
Glad someone else caught that. I'm not sure it was a render of a missile or a space launch system thing, but definitely gave a "ah, yeah, Boeing also makes weapons" vibe
@@toastoftriumphYeah I imagine it is, but that basically means its a hypersonic missle to which they are yet to strap the warhead on, but indeed it is more nuanced. Thought it was a funny pun though.
Guess one also achieves that by having them drop out of the sky in multiple countries with lots of casualties. Was probably cheaper to them. Hell, even the military guy was worried. When they are being deployed even for someone with an office job at the base getting bombed counts as a normal Tuesday. If someone goes to war but stays clear of Boeing...🤯
This is exactly what Edward Deming trying telling American car makers in the 70s (and 80s) about their decline in quality. They laughed at him and he went to Japan, where Honda and Toyota embraced him. He became a legend there while helping Japanese car makers overtake the “made in America” declining symbolism. Interesting lessons in management.
Lots of Americans and Canadians have been moving to the beach down here in Southern Baja. Mexico is very very free and it's on a steep upward trajectory (for Mexico)@@HazelwithaZ
Unfortunately aviation isn't being outsourced to Japan who has quality engineering. It's outsourced to China, India, and the cheapest labor possible. Part of union busting in aviation.
@allthingsnm354 there is still Airbus in Europe, they still take quality serious. They overtook Boeing in 2019 becoming the biggest aerospace company and most airliner companies have fully switched to Airbus now for their new models, lets hope they dont merge with any other company.
@@MyAnalyser I believe that. I'm going back a little further in time when there were mass layoffs and maintenance is not what it used to be in the U.S.
"Started by the spirit of innovation, killed by greed." is pretty much a tagline for our modern society.
Lobbyists and shareholders should be outlawed.
@@Tustin2121so should diversity hiring which lowers quality and safety
It's also the tagline for today's Republican party.
For real. The best didn't become the standard the cheapest and most profitable did.
@@juliat4908 we see what diversity hiring did to south africa😂
I worked for Boeing for nearly 40 years. Retired in 2019. The problems all started when McDonnell Douglas “merged” with us. The whole business model changed from producing quality products to making more money. Period. Just as depicted in this piece. I saw it with my own eyes and lived it every day. So sad. I loved my company and it was like watching someone you love die from a slow and painful death.
That’s basically everything now. Keep them shareholders happy at all costs…few crashed planes, layoffs, outsourcing to low quality subs. Capitalism has its downsides.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with making more money. But there’s different ways to do it. Building a bigger and better business that builds great products is generally a good thing. Slowly running the business into the ground by solely focusing on maximizing quarterly profit is generally a bad thing.
was that the MD- philosophy? Or just the problem of the biggest company with shareholders pushing for the market share?
@@8__vv__8 the biggest (red, sore, pus-filled) problem is the system that, not only allows, but encourages to prioritize shareholder value. That system is stock trading.
Agreed. I worked at Boeing at the time as well. It was the beginning of the end.
I worked at Boeing as an Aerospace Engineer on the 787 program and was retaliated against when I disclosed to the FAA that a flight critical component didn't meet the quality and structural integrity requirements.
sorry that you had to work for the bloodsucking greedy leeches that only care about money. It's a theme in our modern kleptocracy.
Thank you for reporting it. For my and my families safety I am incredibly grateful. It's absolutely awful that they retaliated against you.
Thank you for standing up for the safety of travelers.
Morals are a bitch!
Retaliated how? What were the consequences?
RIP Pius Adabola Adesanmi, who was one of my university professors at Carleton University and who died in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on a Boeing 737 Max. He was a funny, lighthearted, and intelligent man who taught African Literature. I've heard his family is suing The Boeing Company for this tragic accident. May in rest in brilliance.
My uncle is an engineer at Boeing. I remember, about a decade ago, having a conversation with him about how the old board, who were mostly other engineers, were all gone. They were replaced by the usual corporate types who didn’t seem to understand that you can’t cut corners in aviation.
You shouldn't cut corners in anything or any product. Period.
Ummm otay... Lets review. Engineering is the practice of creating a solution that addresses a challenge with minimal resources. It has ALWAYS been the core principle of engineering. Always dealing with constraints. Based on your tribalistic view... we should forge one single billet and whittle a plane out of it... you know because "cutting corners" is dumb. Oh and lets be VERY CLEAR. Cutting corners literally saves lives. Failure to chamfer or radius structures creates stress risers that really enjoy sudden and catastrophic failures well below the materials yield strength.
@@Katchi_ok, but safety regulations and OSHA exist for a reason
You *can* cut corners. But sooner or later, the front *will* fall off.
@@Katchi_ Are you purposely being obtuse or do you honestly think that Boeing's engineers that built a reputation of excellence and well-crafted jets over several decades of existence somehow became better when a bunch of bean counters shifted their priorities to the bottom line? If that were the case, there would be no change and these recent horrible incidents wouldn't have happened. Using a software patch to "correct" a design flaw is insane.
I'm an engineering student in Seattle, and took a class this quarter that brought in a bunch of Boeing employees as mentors for us. The midterm for the class was a presentation in front of about a dozen Boeing engineers. One group was presenting on fasteners, and got to the topic of torque wrenches, which tell you how tight a bolt is when you tighten it. This dude, standing in front of all these Boeing engineers, says "torque wrenches are important because if the bolt is too tight, then it will put stress on the bolt, and if it's too loose, then you could lose a part... like a door."
The reactions from the mentors were priceless.
I'm supporting a medical device company that has critical elements within it that must stay attached. Can't say much more about it, but it's not just airplanes where proper use of fasteners or adhesives matter.
Good luck with your studies, and for gosh sake, keep your integrity! Maintain your pride in your work and if that's not rewarded, look for new opportunities.
Video. I want to see a video of that soooo bad.
Yeah, I'm in Pullman and WSU will occasionally host something for Boeing... basically roll out the red carpet for them and either their engineers, marketing team, or business heads come in and act as "mentors". I also find that a test grade dependent on how you perform to a Boeing employee is ridiculous. What I want to know is... "Who the fuck said you Boeing guys were so good?" You know there are other companies out there with good engineers and better management who don't put profits above people. Why are these schools in fucking bed with Boeing anyway, or did they just get short-sighted creatively, and figure they'd pick Boeing cuz they stand out like the Golden Arches in the state of Washington. I guess if you're an aeronautics or aerodynamics major, presenting to Boeing kind of makes sense. Otherwise, I'd tell both Boeing and my school to eff off, and if I'm a good student then I can figure out a better place to have my project peer reviewed. Anyway good luck man... own the industry. Don't let them own you.
you can't have that happen at cruising altitude because the vacuum will stop the door from even being able to open the air pressure literally won't let you pop the door
🤣 OMG, thanks for the bonus laugh!
I feel like "We went to business school. Get on our plane!" aptly encapsulates not just the enshittification of aircraft, but also the enshittification of pretty much everything from dating apps to video games, to taxis, to hotels, to movies, and beyond.
so F*ckin true!!!
Wow. Enshittification. What a word
The number one thing they teach in business schools is “A company’s primary responsibility is to its shareholders”
This is where that teaching has gotten us
With enshittification comes affordability, and despite people's complaints, we like that. Without enshittification, a basic TV would cost about $1,500 instead of $300. What we need to do is re-establish our priorities and demand certain safety-sensitive industries back out of that enshittification model. But how?
@@beenaplumber8379...nah. This is just bullshit, through-and-through.
1. The kind of "enshittification" we're talking about here primarily passes savings onto shareholders, _NOT_ customers. In fact, it's often directly at the expense of customers. Raising prices more than necessary in response to inflation and supply-chain complications; maintaining the same prices on certain products while trying to sneakily use cheaper, lower-quality materials; etc.
2. There is a difference between making processes more efficient, and seeing which genuinely detrimental changes you can get away with. The former does often require people with knowledge of organizational principles and operations, that's true. But the point is to leave quality unchanged, or at least within acceptable margins that customers agree to as a compromise for the reduced price. What we're seeing is worsening conditions for no customer benefit.
I remember when Guitar Center was bought out by a capital holdings firm. You know what happened? They started aggressively pushing predatory in-store credit cards, and pressuring employees to rope customers in to the program. Do you know what didn't happen? Reduced prices. This is the kind of shit we're talking about.
You can always choose to end your relationship with a favorite company and shop somewhere else, but there are two issues there: people can't always tell when the quality of materials has gotten worse without independent tests, and this enshittification is becoming more and more pervasive. Many have switched to a different company, only for the new company to undergo similar shifts/takeovers not long after. This has been my partner's experience with skincare products.
Frankly, I think you just don't know what you're talking about here, and feel some odd need to defend the head assholes in charge. Perhaps "something something STICKING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF UNREGULATED MARKETS something something".
Two whistleblower deaths later, this episode was about three weeks too early. I hope we get a Boeing II episode soon
I gotta say, corporations murdering whistleblowers was not on my bingo card this year.
@@TheNorthHawk
World War 3 is brewing... legit... US gave Ukraine longer range ATACAMs so Russia went "guess anyone that wants some similar equipment, especially those who dislike the US, get a discount."
Same sentiments I had when I saw this today!
Yep
And now two astronauts are stuck at the ISS because of problems with hydraulic thrusters in the space capsule.
My dad has a degree in chemistry and worked as a manager. He always said:
"It is much easier to teach an engineer some accounting than to teach an MBA science."
Every plumber: That's stock manipulation! 👍
My dad has the same background and always said the same thing. He was very annoyed with me going for that economics major 😅
MBAs are great at ruining absolutely everything they come in contact with.
Yeah, but then the engineers might figure out how little they're being paid. Godforbid, might even go on a strike. Or ask for equity!
Funnily enough after flying Delta multiple years I can see that
Like engineering wise they don’t fix plane issues😂
For every Boeing whistleblower and employee who said something- thank you! You have saved so many lives.
One of Boeing's whistleblowers apparently died in mysterious circumstances. Jesus.
@@LesPaul2006yea Boeing is a military contractor btw
Thanks to Kayak for saving lives by allowing us to never fly on Boeing planes.
@@wazup3333billions of dollars at stake in both the military an civilian market. They should make a movie about corporate hitmen and Boeing
@@Kelly-ju1kw the best thing we can do to spam our senators and the doj with well written emails to use their influence to reregulate the aerospace industry, and use their influence to influence to doj and FBI to investigate Boeings executives. Here's a sample
Dear Senator,
I am writing to urgently request your office's intervention in launching thorough investigations into Boeing and its executives, highlighting the imperative nature of holding these individuals accountable for their actions. Recent events have vividly underscored the dire need for transparency and accountability within the upper echelons of the company.
The aerospace industry plays an indispensable role in ensuring the safety and security of millions of passengers globally. It has become glaringly evident, however, that Boeing and its executives have been prioritizing shareholder stock buybacks and maximizing profits over safety concerns, resulting in egregious negligence that has had catastrophic consequences.
The repeated instances of negligence, such as those unveiled in the wake of the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, point to a disturbing trend where safety takes a backseat to profit margins. It is unacceptable that corporate interests are allowed to supersede the well-being and safety of passengers and crew members.
Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of whistleblower John Barnett raise serious questions about the integrity and ethics within Boeing's corporate culture. Mr. Barnett's untimely death occurred before he could finish his testimony, and it strains credulity to accept that he would have committed suicide under such circumstances. The abrupt end to his testimony and the apparent inconsistencies surrounding his death demand a thorough investigation to uncover the truth.
Additionally, it is evident that the previous presidential administrations' decisions to deregulate the aerospace industry have been a colossal mistake. Deregulation has created an environment where profit motives often overshadow safety considerations, leading to disastrous outcomes. I urge you to advocate for new congressional laws and regulations that prioritize safety and accountability within the aerospace industry, ensuring that incidents like those involving Boeing are prevented in the future.
I implore you not only to take decisive action within Congress but also to utilize your influence to urge appropriate agencies such as the FBI and DOJ to conduct comprehensive investigations into these matters. It is imperative that Boeing executives are held accountable for their decisions and actions, and that justice is served for the victims and their families.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I trust in your commitment to upholding the principles of accountability, transparency, and public safety.
My uncle was a quality inspector at Boeing for years. His job was to look at what work had been done, compare it to the blue prints, and write up corrections. He said that management had attempted to get rid of his department for years because they represented an additional cost in the manufacturing process.
Yikes.
Before or after the MD acquisition?
There is no KPI for events that proper quality assurance prevented from happening (no way to measure that). Todays management does not comprehend/care, because when the backlash comes, they are already ramming a different company into the ground. Sad.
That's called "Quality Control" and yes, idiot MBAs are always trying to minimize it.
😢Looks like they succeeded.
"We went to Business school, get on our plane!"
Wow that was scarily accurate.
MBAs running the company is a bad sign.
Unfortunately, I still need to work SOMEWHERE...
"The employees feared retaliation for raising safety related concerns." -> Boeing whisteblower was just found dead today. I wonder if John needs to do a follow up video.
Definitely needs a follow up, with an honorary mention of Gary Webb.
Gary Webb, and perhaps Karen Silkwood. @@charliekauffmansgirl4165
Yes!
No. I'm so tired of the Internet being overrun with baseless conspiracy theories. You're insinuating that he was killed deliberately. An accusation like that demands serious evidence, and there isn't any. Until that changes, it's irresponsible to float things like this.
Are you trying to get rid of john?
Wow, as an retired employee of Boeing from the time of the merger I can tell you that everything that was said about profit over safety, quantity over quality is true. During these years employee morale was at its lowest ever. They even were hiring managers from fast food restaurants as managers in the manufacturing side. I’ve been gone for years and had hoped things had improved, guess not.
😆 Nope, they definitely have not… At my old company we used to joke that your test pilots were better at finding integration issues with our engines than we were, but the days of that kind of thoroughness & attention to detail are long gone I’m afraid.
@@jpoeng And the so called FAA quality inspectors that Boeing employed is misleading, they were employees first and trained to be inspectors. So you could have some guy who installed rivets one day end up being an inspector after some training supplies by Boeing themselves. I actually wonder if the inspectors ever saw someone who was from the FAA
@@keithsalter6832 The FAA has confirmed as much when the first MAX 8 went down. They confessed they didn't have the manpower to execute mandatory checks and certification which they allowed the manufacturer to do themselves and then just rubber stamped them.
@@yoeriw7099 True, around the time I left they were starting a new program where the employee doing the work would inspect and buy off his own inspection, with an actual inspector checking say 5 out of a hundred parts. I don’t know if they continued doing this but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s still done today.
@@keithsalter6832 that sounds on brand. Also that they asked the FAA for dispensation for the MAX 7 because they have a fix in a bit, is just crazy. It's only the engine cowls blowing up right and only when the engine anti-ice is on, so that's not a safety risk at all /s
As an Aerospace Engineer, I can tell you that John's description of the 737 Max design issues and subsequent MCAS problems were spot on, technically accurate, and presented in a language that is easily understood by non technical individuals. Now why can't actual journalists and media outlets do the same?
Because they tow the corporate line and are beholden to them. And they care more about getting paid than having integrity.
Because John Olivier & team are real journalists disguised as comedians, while incompetent morons are pretending to be actual journalists.
He missed the quality issue with snowman holes in the fuselage beams on the NG (Al Jazeera made "On a wing and a prayer" about it), and did not clarify that the "fixed" MAX still has stab trim cutoff switches wired differently than the NG, making recovery from runaway trim much harder. Basically, the second MAX crash happened because the pilots could not move the stab trim wheel with their hands while trying to pull up.
Because almost the entirety of the Fourth Estate has been purchased by a few monopolists who are themselves 100% concerned with shareholder wealth, manipulating public opinion to sell their preferred politicians, and pushing citizens to overspend on consumer goods they don't need due to FoMO. John Oliver is a rare exception and it is extremely telling that the only way to get real critical-thinking based coverage of serious issues is to do so under the guise of a comedy show.
These problems were extensively described in the media only two years ago, after the two crashes. Why do all the same media start this story as if this is the first hick up. Only in redactional pieces they start bringing up the already known issue of corporate culture. The story of this accident should have been: Corporate culture in Boeing still not turned around, despite the two crashes years ago.
Before the Malaysian flight went down, my cousin had been an engineer at Boeing. He left because very powerful people would stand over him insisting that he approve plans that he refused to approve because he knew that they were unsafe.
While I was in the middle of watching this video, I saw a BBC report about the mysterious death of a Boeing whistleblower. Goosebumps, literal goosebumps...
Boeing also got angry after Brazilian jet manufacturer EMBRAER, spark concerns over Booeng outdated equipment and poor support when pilots denounce issues. If you are EMBRAER, well know not by luxury and comfort for your jets but first: safety, you wouldn't hold Boieng hands by any sum. EMBRAER demands 3: pilot, co-pilot and beholder for high-end flight softwares used to make your products even safer. Tends to make it expensive ans Boeing are not interested into high-end flight tech, let alone a third and expensive person to make your flights even better ans safer.
It's true.
Yup. Just heard about it this morning. Looks like the whistle-blower got "Epsteined"!😬
John Barnett was found death from apparently "su/c/de". He was involved in a lawsuit againts the company
John Barnett. Had been with Boeing for over 30 years. Worked at 787 plant in Charleston, SC since 2010. Supposed cause of death: self-inflicted gunshot wound.
I'm on a trip right now. Nothing makes me more encouraged than seeing a John Oliver video on Airplanes, and thinking 'uh oh. This can't be good' and being completely right.
if you fly boeing and something happens, make sure to put all your money on BA puts so you can become a millionaire by the time you land.
This somehow still felt like a light and breezy episode compared to prisons in the US or the Supreme Court taking away abortion rights.
OUCH.
Please tell you are flying on an Airbus plane?
Hope you don't die 🙏
"Delivering value to shareholders at any and all Human cost" THIS IS OUR WORLD OMG
People say thats satire but i dont think it is ...
I was a higher up in multiple tech companies over the last few years. I can promise you that this is not satire. Some of the shit I heard was so evil that it has changed me forever.
I hate it here. Abhorrent world.
Edit: thanks "spellcheck".
Close Wall st. Eat the Rich
@@ilenastarbreeze4978 great satire is just using reality against you to make you laugh
In light of the recent 2nd whistleblower death, perhaps an emergency follow up to this episode is needed.
I feel like people just don't care anymore. A company just offs two people and there are no repercussions. No big outcry. People are fine with their capitalist overlords. We even let them destroy our planet for profit, and eagerly eat up the scraps and the lies.
I worked at Boeing for 32 years, including through the merger. This is spot on.
I got feeling the merger also impacted company structure on more levels😮
Thank you. This show dispenses so much information. good to see it's also accurate.
NASA does business with Boeing and the rest of the war industry.
delete this bro they be out there self inflicting wounds on people
@oddursigurdsson9637 what are you ? An infant ? Self Inflicted wounds are not done by other. What a spectacularly stupid comment.
My dad has worked in airplane manufacturing/repair for over 40 years. Since 2000, he has made all of us fly only on Airbus planes.
I'm curious, what was your dad's opinion on Boeing and what did he discover using his experience of manufacturing and/or repair?
Your dad is stupid. Boeing had a stellar safety record till fairly recently
@@boodesultan12boeing is what hapens when you put mba's in charge of a engineering firm
Oh god. There's pretty much no Airbuses flying in Canada. 😬
@@boodesultan12 Before that time in the 80s and early 90s, he and my mother both worked for Boeing. He did engine repairs, and she manufactured the wings and tail. They both felt safe and secure flying on them then and had nothing but good things to say about working for the company. But when he made us stop in the 2000s, he just said that they no longer valued the workers and were focused more on quantity over the quality of the planes. He never told me more than that.
Quality escape? Reminds me when I worked for a large company and for legal purposes I had to use the phrase "thermal event" instead of "fire" whenever I wrote a report. Like the time we had a thermal event so large it required the attention of the municipal thermal event response team who showed up in their bright red thermal event suppression vehicle.
I hope you didn't get thermal evented from your job
HP?
What a thermal event! 😆 (Hint: "burn!") 😆 🤣
Ah yes, sounds like that classic Ohio Players song. “Thermal Event.” I think it was used as the theme for Hell’s Kitchen if I’m not mistaken…
At my job we can't say mold. We have to say environmental changes😂
New merch should be: If it's Boeing, I ain't going.
I flew to DC a few months ago in May, and that was exactly what I said to some friends before we left for the airport. My heart dropped to Hades after seeing the plane we would be on was a Boeing.
Learning Kayak let's you exclude planes from your flight plan was the best part of this whole piece. Goodbye, Boeing.
Momondo too
Google flights wont exclude planes but does show the aircraft model on a flight and I use that to make decisions.
I guarantee that when an airline changes your flight (for whatever reason,) they're not going to follow your Kayak plane model inputs.
Then you get to your flight and turns out it's delayed, but not to worry! They have another plane coming in that'll replace it to take you to your destination! Just please don't ask what type of plane it is.
@zqxzqxzqx1 just fly spirit or Frontier, sure the seats are worse and you don't get the bells and whistles. But they are both all airbus and you won't be risking your life
The last line hits so hard “Delivering value to shareholders at any, and all, human cost.”
NASA does business with Boeing and the rest of the war industry.
We had a lot of docs, nurses and staff quit b/c at Lovelace Hopsital, that became our motto, "building sharevalue" ahead of our patients. New Mexico has this same problem hospitals carting patients to the side of the road for non-payment. Lovelace actually got caught w/ they declared it in their shareholder meeting they dont care about patients... only profit.
thats pretty much the theme for modern society. 99% of people are only here to make the 1% richer at all cost
well thats what you to after business school.
That is essentially what the share market represents, A means by which to influence people against their own best interests in the pursuit of monetary gain.
Boeing: The best Airbus ad.
Until Boeing folds & they have the monopoly, dats capitalism... 🤷♂
lol
@@greggasiorowski1326- Until? No no, monopolies are the natural resting state of unregulated capitalism. That capitalism must involve competition is a myth.
@@Tustin2121
Did I say it wasn't? its a progression or rather digression.
@@greggasiorowski1326I think both you guys made the same statement that competition thrives capitalism so if only a few or one companies controll the entire market you cannot speak of capitalism
this is even scarier now that two boeing whistle blowers mysteriously died shortly after one another
Isn't that him at 5:07 ?
Now that I know that a Weapons Manufacturer is keeping its Share Stock value up and above against ALL odds.
I think the CIA owns boing 😂😂😂😂
sure, "mysteriously"..
Yeah...the Russia kind of "mysteriously"
stop with these unproven conspiracies. You don't KNOW what happened do you? Your type of people is the main reason why the US is going down the shitter. Congratulations........you can shout out the conspiracies as you drown in your own excrement - it's not going to make them more true.
I worked for Boeing for 5 years from 8/88 to 8/93.
I learned a lot.
Assembly Machinist, then CNC Machinist.
Quality was good.
I was laid off for over 3 years before a call-back.
I'm glad I had moved on.
I never looked back.
Corporate greed caused every crash.
Most if not all engineering Desasters are caused by office politics, it's rarely to never the result of qualified personnel forgetting something.
Blood on their hands.
There really should be more than 2 companies making planes, if capitalism breeds innovation and loves competition.
Turns out unregulated capitalism is monopolistic and dangerous.
I guess this is a bit of Schadenfreude for you. Hopefully things are well on your end after the layoff.
Also a machinist as well. Not for Boeing though , but I'm glad to say that 😂.
It's amazing how many good reputable companies have been destroyed by decisions to play Stock Finance Guy instead of being an actual business
My father is a quality inspector for Boeing. He was fired from his position (and moved to another thanks to the union) for flagging something outside of deviation.
Not all heroes wear capes
Tells you a lot about a company's mindset if they let a man go for the crime of doing their job, huh?
People like your dad cared about a good job to be done and safety, nowadays people don’t have the heart in the job they do.
@@ramongutierrez-gq4cq My father has been in the union for over three decades. He has a pension. He makes over three figures a year. It was a career he took up when he wanted to step away from being an electrician.
The next generation that he is training is getting the same starting wages that he started on in the 90's. They have no pension. The retirement and healthcare coverage has been gutted. The pay raises have been whittled down by half. With the military planes being added on last minute Boeing requires overtime and these new employees don't get to take a weekend. My father caught a manager telling a floor worker "You are all replaceable".
Boeing is no longer offering career opportunities. There is no "heart" to give in the midst of such disrespect.
@@Dinozzzaur 3 figures a year???? Do you understand math? What was he? A quality inspector who volunteered?
As a former aerospace engineer I can say John Oliver provided the best explanation of the engineering mistakes made with the Boeing Max 8 that I have seen
Liar.
Have you not seen the Netflix Downfall of Boeing? Because those are all clips from that movie
Imagine caping for fucking *boeings corporate managent* in the comment section of a UA-cam video unprovoked.
I work for a ground services company and certain planes/builders worry me. People touching and putting people in planes should be able to stop a flight from safety (they tell us this in training) but then put all the MONEY they might lose on you... So can you actually stop flights; probably not. It's just all about money.
@@Katchi_retard
"new business daddy is so mad at us all the time!" that won the inner tube for me today.
Most of my family worked at Boeing; my dad worked there for much of his life. He helped build the 777 back in the 90s and was extremely proud of it. I remember being in 6th grade when my dad came to talk to my class about his job and hand out buttons and things all related to the new 777. I was really proud of him as well. After that though, I watched my dad slowly lose his pride in his work at the company, unhappy with all the changes that were being made though I didn't really know the specifics of what was going on. As he got older, they increased his work time, increased travel time by switching plants and things several times, did a lot of changes that made him feel like they were trying to push him out. He stuck it out until 2015 and just managed to get the retirement plan before they ended it. He died last year and I feel so sad seeing what happened to my dad and the company we used to love.
😢 sorry to hear. This company is becoming evil. They even murdered a whistleblower.
I'm so sorry about your dad. I suppose he's was not the only one having the same experiences by working at Boeing and watching them go downhill fast and furious. Plane crashes are undoable.
I’m so sorry for your loss ❤
What you didn’t know was your dad’s visit to your school was part of their K-12 maintenance recruiting initiatives.
May he RIP. I am assuming he was a man of principles till the end otherwise they would have made it worse for him and you his family!
As an Aerospace Quality Engineering Technician, This makes me really grateful to be a part of the Airbus/Pratt and Whitney Supply chain, Yes quality issues happen all the time. HOWEVER, they are always taken very seriously, and we have never been pressured to sweep anything under the rug... but we make engine parts, i have no idea what its like working with teams from software, airframe ect.
It's very sad that we think positively of a company that just...does its job properly. Goes to show how inhuman these people have to be when even someone doing the bare minimum is a saint compared to them.
Thank you for doing that job. Really damn important!!!!!
Hey even Pratt and Whitney made the terrible TF-30 engine. No company makes everything perfectly.
That’s great to hear, I also work in the industry and QE is critical. I hadn’t seen the clip of Dave Calhoun at 1:34, it sounded like he didn’t know how to describe what an escape is. I’d be interested to hear him questioned more about design and quality practices, to see if he understands the details of how these products are made, and where the challenges are. If he can’t, I think that’s disqualifying.
@@donkeyentertainhey if you’re willing, I would love to hear what exactly quality escape is
I'm an Aerospace Machinist at a company who makes parts for Boeing among others and I see this kind of thing every day. The parts in your plane were most likely built by someone with a month's experience that the company refused to train to save money.
Exactly this
100%true , I was a machinist at Boeing contractors for 15 years before getting a job at Boeing. The management culture at both are absolutely terrible.
This isn't the problem, according to right wingers it's women and black people boeing hired! 🤣
@@lococomrade3488plain don’t run outta Wichita, less’n your a hog or cattle. People plain runs outta…Stubbsville.
"But line must go up. Line cant go up if we dont cut costs."
"We could cut executive salaries..."
Shocked picacchu face.
As a child of first cousins this episode not only made me knowledgeable about the aircraft industry but also gave me many jokes that I can use on my parents. Thank you, John Oliver.
"We went to business school. Get on our plane"
That line knocked me out haha. Is there anything that this shareholder system hasn't destroyed?
Well, profit for shareholders seems to be in tact
I'm currently reading "When McKinsey comes to town" and it's one example after another where companies killed people in the pursuit of bigger profits for shareholders. The shareholder system should be banned worldwide.
@@coltenh581 For now, but their short sightedness will kill that too
@@tristanneal9552 for the foreseeable future. Nothing gets in the way of profit.
Congress needs to take some of the blame for defunding the FAA. Also we need to decouple C level compensation from the stock price. That will fix it for good. Heck that will fix America and curb the rampant greed
"And you know things are bad when the general public is getting this knowledgeable about specific plane models."
Boy does that ever sum up the situation, hahah
Yeah, we shouldn't have to have that level of knowledge about our planes or our rideshare cars either.
Almost like capitalism needs government to regulate it.
Just like people still know what a DC-10 is.
Sad when travelers have to do due diligence on planes as an act of self-preservation
@@chrisbarrett8817 yeah! like literal self-preservation! like life or death!
It's not only the Boeing 737MAX 9 that has quality control issues, it is the entire range of all aircraft they produce.
The amount of footage from “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” just shows how definitive it is on Boeing’s issues. Absolute masterpiece of a documentary in my opinion. I think everyone watching this episode should watch it
Added to my Netflix list.
As an aircraft maintenance engineer turned Quality Assurance/ SMS investigator in aviation,… I will attest that this is an everyday uphill battle!
I really hope that HBO Reallizes what they have here. This is one of if NOT THE BEST SHOW of it's kind on tv today. It's on its way of being the likes of 60 Minutes or Frontline but with really good humor thrown in.
Once again JOHN KILLED IT 👍
yes this is exactly the priority of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by a larger corporate conglomerate. you know, the geniuses who got rid of the prized brand name "hbo" that you still use
John actually said warner wants to get rid of him so badly but the amount of emmys he wins each year basically gives him immunity. They hate him and he hates them which is why he trashes them every chance he gets. He's got warner by the balls and he loves it
@@ytivarg5371: To quote Sir PTerry: "Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum."
@@ytivarg5371 yes but only assuming "more emmys" = "number go up", they're a private company and they get to define "number"
A consistently compelling high-quality investigative news program... that also effectively integrates delightfully absurd concepts like camel porn!
I hope this segment absolutely tanks Boeing's share price.
Why? Did you bet against it? Cause you totally should have lol
They'll just do another stupid share buyback.
@@abandonedmuse yolo in puts
Let’s get a world wide grassroots short sell on it like PE had tried with GME
The only thing that would tank Boeing is if the EU or other nations ban Boeing from it's airspace and landing at any of its airports. That would be a huge lost, leaving airlines only with Airbus. But if Airbus is the only company in the game the quality could go down too.
I was once a Boeing employee in a safety based role. I was told by my direct leader that we could cut corners because we can "count on the other engineers to have done their job." I pointed out that we were the Boeing engineers counted on to do our jobs. You can see how his attitude would lead to systemic issues.
pretty much everyone in a management role is an idiot who is the son of some guy who used to be important.. its up to us smart asses that no one appreciates and society craps all over to keep this whole thing together.. hopefully ai will replace these smooth brains soon..
Yawn
Jesus, learn to spell.
Unreliable narrator.
@@SpoonfightChecks out to me given what we’re seeing 😂
And Boeing is only getting worse from here considering a second whistleblower just died after blowing the whistle on Boeing's shoddy manufacturing.
This needs a follow up video
7:04 fun fact: a DC-10 losing a piece on the runway is the reason concorde had its one and only crash ever.
Ain't that ironic?
that dosnt sound like a fun fact.
Quality escape...what would George Carlin say?!
When someone says fun fact and you’re trying to find the fun part.😢
Fun fact?? More like… NON-fun fact!! *slaps knee 😂
This is heartbreaking. My Dad went to engineering college on the GI bill after WWII. He worked at various divisions at Boeing, virtually his whole life, in Seattle, Wichita and Phila. He was so proud of Boeing, that he made me read a book about the history of Boeing, published in the late 60's, when I was in high school. It is so disturbing how greed has destroyed this company and many others
The worst part is it isn't just Boeing. US Society as a whole is going through the same thing.
I'm old enough to remember when stock value was tied to the value of the product made and the strength of a company which included strong employment with salaries and benefits tied to productivity. This of course was when higher taxes made companies use profits to reinvest back into the company and employee retention - back before trickle-down economic theory, stock buybacks, short sellers, commodification of food and shelter ... and now medical services and everything else that has degraded our society into the Gilded Age 2.0
If Boeing is turning out sub-par products, then you can just imagine the rest of American industry.
Your father and his peers are proof that Boeing can make tons of profit while making quality products and workers with thriving lives and long careers. Any excuse not to is just that, and to feed the greedy overburdened with wealth.
Yes it is so very sad. And you know Boeing will be knocking on the government's corrupt door asking for a bail out.
How about "Even if it's Boeing, you should be whistleblowing"
One I saw in a different comment, "Boeing is the sound the door makes when it flies off the hinges and into the sky at 30000 feet"
Also, given what happened to some of the other Whistleblowers, Mysterious disappearances and a confirmed "Suicide" maybe you shouldn't blow the whistle on them anymore....
@@fivestarguy100 Nope. That's what they want. Double down on the whistleblowing. Hold them accountable.
Whistleblowers might fly Russian style. (They have open windows as well.)
“Our new business daddy is so mad at us all the time,” got me howling 🤣🤣
Didja cackle, tho?
Mebbe... spew summa dat folgers out'cha nose?
Business daddy must be livid at Boeing for absolutely crushing the MAX branding
I love how John gives Zero F's about what his bosses think. It's WB, it was AT&T before him. He's been daring them to cancel him for a long time.
Moist-towlette time, broo.
@@ChA0s_AgeNt I did
I live near one of the Boeing plants, and know several workers. One story I heard that highlights some of the issues in the companywas there was a meeting to discuss software issues with a plane (i think it was the 777) and the engineers were trying to explain the problem. A VP said "I dont care, just ship it". The engineer presenting got super pissed, and after figuring out the VP literally did not understand, told him "The plane wont turn on with this issue, you literally can not ship it because it can not even move!" The VP apparently stormed out of the room. People looked up the VP afterwards , and found that his experience prior to that position was at a company that sold shampoo.
Maybe we should stop hiring silver-tongued cretins with ego issues and just hire some super passionate engineer who sleeps with a calculator under his pillow to be the executive. You see this in every industry because hiring priorities are fucked. They actively select against quiet but brilliant nerds and hire only narcissists with motor mouths.
This is fucking scary!
That's what happens when you don't promote from within.
This checks out. I had friends and relatives work for this company. The pay is garbage, they cycle through workers like it's a revolving door, and everyone at the top is only looking out for the shareholders and not the quality of the product. If they don't care about their own employees, you can imagine how they treat the process of making the planes. I turned down their job offer of a measly $25 an hour. I have a degree and would've been working with engineers, designers, and the QCs. After hearing from the employees that they can't keep workers because low pay, low quality, and everything being rushed,... I declined the job in Everett. Boeing isn't what they used to be.
@@plinko84 None of the legacy corporations are what they used to be, greed has destroyed all of them & our country.
11 March 2024
A former Boeing employee known for raising concerns about the firm's production standards has been found dead in the US. (BBC)
John Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017.
In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company.
This is absolutely true! I just looked on the BBC website and this story is real. He was found dead in his truck in his hotel parking lot. Boeing says they are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing. Yeah, I'll bet they are. Why is this a BBC story and not an American story? Funny how this man was due to undergo further questions on Saturday pertaining to the poor quality issues at Boeing. Now he's dead. Hmm.
Yep. He was the quality control guy from Downfall on Netflix.
At BEST, the corporate culture at Boeing led a man to take his own life rather than enjoy his retirement. At worst, Boeing unalived a whistleblower.
@ashleymeggan Boeing is saying it was self-inflicted. So he was Epstiened for sure.
@ashleymeggan Are you making the assumption that this man took his own life? More likely that someone at Boeing contracted someone to (take care of business) for them. Remember, this guy was a whistle-blower.
@@glnnchrstphr9717 and remember they are not just a commercial aircraft builder. They have Mercs at the ready to do their bidding. Defense contractors, contract kill.
This episode was so good and the icing on the cake was seeing Roy Woods Jr. back in action. Thank you John, keep giving us more Roy skits.
This happens all over. Businessmen whose only thoughts are about cutting costs, cutting corners, and filling the pockets of shareholders are put in charge of something they know nothing about and end up slowly killing the company.
😭
Not just the company, people too!
That’s 🎉capitalism🎉
Or in this case human beings
Happened to intel aswell they kinda start to see its mistakes but still have some of thlse mba morons
"New business daddy is mad at us... All the time." LMAO I love you so much! Thank you for so many years of joy and laughter.
I currently fly these airplanes, and I think John Oliver has done some of the best journalism on this subject that exists
Flying on a 787 M9 out of Istanbul next week to US. How concerned should I be?
@@total_war88do you have a death wish?
@@total_war88 no 787s or 737s for us any more! We feel lucky to have survived four 737 flights in January getting to Hawaii and back, over the ocean for 6 hours on two of those flights!
Hey pilots! Is it true that pilots often have a good time with the stewardesses?
@@gamercatsz5441the questions we should be asking 😂😂
After the sudden death of the second Boeing whistleblower in two months it's maybe time for an update?
This was absolutely horrifying. Best part was learning you can exclude certain planes on kayak. Best ad ever!
How come in America none of these CEO's ever goes to prison? Everyone gets outraged but nothing ever happens to these guys.
Because in America the official definition of corruption is so narrow and easy to bypass that it might as well be legal. Every one of these murderous MBA SOBs has friends in high places and it helps a lot
Things do happen to them! Dennis Muilenberg left with a 62 m$ package!
Because Republicans want more deregulation. Remember, that the FAA let Boeing do self inspection/sign-off on it's manufacturing process... because.... big government is the root of all evil!!!! The FAA didn't even know what MCAS was for a while after the first MCAS crash.
I think it's cuz they can hide behind the company if it's an LLC (limited liability company). And most corporations are. So if their lawyers are good they can avoid liability for knowingly taking actions that kill people.
Boeing, 4th biggest Sleepy Joe campaign donator 2020/2024. Explained?
So what I'm understanding is.... Boeing stopped being Boeing, and became McDonell Douglas with a Boeing halloween costume. RIP Boeing 1916-1997
McDonnell Douglas: "we bought Boeing with their money"
Nick Olliver is crying and he begs to differ! He said Airbus is equally bad as Boeing 737max
@@sonneh86 😂 There is definitely a deeper story there. It’s like someone at McDonell Douglas infiltrated Boeing and convinced them to buy the company, and then commenced an internal takeover.
It's like weekend at Bernie's 😂😂
@@alvinloh9068 That may be so, but the facts would appear to differ. So how many times have Airbuses been grounded in the past few years?
I love the topics John picks and that he doesn't run after the stupid nonsense of the politics of the day. I don't know if this is just a comedy show because to me, this is one of the highest forms of true journalism. Extremely important topics and a highly enlightening presentation while also being entertaining and funny. Good job to the entire team!
It's comedy mixed with journalism. There's a reason why the John Oliver Effect exists.
"When a door closes, another one opens." -Boeing
Boeing managemetn is followign an open-door policy.
Stop 😭😂
More like: when a door closes, the same one opens.
When a door closes it can later become a large window.
When the door to safety concerns closes the door door marked Exit your ired OPENS
Whats f*cking crazy is that a Boeing whistleblower was found dead inside his car with a self inflicted gun wound just yesterday..
“Self inflicted “….
@@cheebalu74 move along citizen.
Boeing is learning from Russia 😂
In Russia, they fall out of tall buildings @@LexlutherVII
this guy committed suicide just like Jeffrey Epstein did. the difference is, this was a good hard working man who never hurt anybody. Epstein was a sex trafficking AH. the public is going to care a lot more about him. there must be a full and impartial investigation into this "suicide".@@cheebalu74
I’m from Seattle and remember when Boeing was a company we could be proud of. My friends and family members who work for or worked for Boeing say everything changed when McDonnell Douglas’ management took over and changed the whole modus operandi and it went from pride in engineering to greed greed greed! So I think you’re right to point that out because that’s what the old timers report. It sure had a long good run under the Boeing way, it’s so sad to see what’s happened to it now under the McDonnell Douglas fiasco of a management style, especially since it involves hurtling people through the sky at incredible speeds.
You nailed it!
Boeing used to be the pride and joy of this city. Nowadays we're best known for tech companies that are slowly trying to kill us all. I have a friend who worked at the Boeing factory as a riveter, after the merger he got the hell out as fast as he could. Now he's an IT guy. If that's not a great metaphor for the state of Seattle I don't know what is.
For some reason I read "hurting people through the sky"
@@DommifaxWell, you know. I say "tomato", you say "hurting people through the sky". Same diff with Boeing these days
I remember, too.
I was so livid after watching the Netflix documentary, had to come here and laugh it all out. Thanks to John Oliver for another great episode!
The fact that the Kayak airplane filter has gone up in usage is wild and very telling.
> The fact that the Kayak airplane filter has gone up in usage is wild and very telling
And the reason I'll be using Kayak and other companies that will allow me to fly exclusively on Airbus planes easily.
If it's Boeing, I'm canceling my trip.
Momondo also has that filter
I felt Roy Wood Jr.'s single tear deep in my heart. I'm glad people of taste are hiring you, buddy.
100%. I got so happy when I saw him at the end.
@Manman-uj2hm wow thats real bad
And sadly now John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who was a whistleblower sharing concerns about the company’s production standards, was just found dead. Prayers for him and his loved ones 🙏🏾😢
RIP.
They Epsteined him
Hehe deep state strikes again, just like Jeffrey Epstein, John Barnett- Boeing whistleblower did not kill himself 😅😂
Such a brave man John was & he is happy in heaven yet his loved 1s r grieving like hell💕🙏💕🤲💕
@@debunker00 He was mid-deposition.
This is an incredible bit. Pure gold. Oliver is outstanding.
I worked for a Boeing contractor that made parts for the 737 max. We were actually really big on safety. It was a major part of on boarding and a frequent part of discussions with engineers and QA. We knew that people's live could literally be on the line. Even before we knew the cause of the Indonesian flight crash, we slowed (though not stopped) production to review safety procedures. It's frustrating, and heartbreaking, that it wasn't a concern for Boeing and other contractors.
Good on yall
@rickowens5310 it got nothing to do with this at all.
@@ZaxMan3D this kind of messages are usually attention grabbing bots spamming for stupid content.
Saying how good an aerospace manufacturer is about safety is like saying how good you are at not shitting your pants. It's really cool and I loved the safety culture in my own aerospace profession (USAF, crew chief) but it's a little concerning that it's something that sets you apart from the other contractors and Boeing.
I have worked in Quality for over 25 years. I have worked for a consulting company that was a subcontractor for Boeing. The ask from Boeing when working a contract with us was to get to the cheapest price possible. Cutting quality inspections was the top of the list.
I no longer work in that space,but Boeing isn’t the only company sacrificing quality for profits time after time. Finance is involved more and more in making technical decisions that should be at the sole discretion of technical staff. It’s ridiculously frustrating.
I can’t wait to retire.
What plane do you choose when flying commercial?
The irony is if Boeing had just stuck to the culture of delivering a quality product the stock price would probably just take care of itself. Taking shortcuts and the focus off the most important things always ends poorly
If you've been working aerospace that whole time, then you've been overspending on unnecessary inspections, too. It's industry wide. I've also worked quality for a long time, and I recently made the jump to aero/defense and can't believe the amount of waste I see across the industry. You don't have to sacrifice quality to reduce the cost of inspections, especially at the component level.
@dylanwirtz869 You are absolutely right. Unfortunately investors that drive companies into the ground like this don't want to hear about a well-crafted long-term plan that guarantees slow but steady growth while maintaining a quality product.
They demand instant gratification through quick profits earned by any means necessary, never looking further than the next quarter. They aren't invested in the companies future and cash out as soon as the results of their greed come to fruition.
Capitalism much?
It amazes me how LWT and John Oliver can be so funny, yet so accurate with their reporting. I've spent most of my career as both an airline mechanic and Boeing employee. I've seen the cultural change at Boeing firsthand. I started my career being proud of the safety culture in commercial aviation and ended my career disillusioned and bitter at the profit first mentality management had adopted.
Yep. Funny, accurate AND succinct. The way John Oliver connected all these events with share price brought a lot of clarity to the sad situation. I feel compelled to say that when I was hired at Boeing as an entry-level employee 12 years ago, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the finest people I've ever met. And I'm still extremely happy here. That cultural decline started at the top and hasn't really reached me yet.
@@paulglidden8893 Capitalism is a spreading cancer and worker empowerment is the cure
I can't get over how hard the withholding information quote goes.
As a 30 year Boeing employee, retired for 16 years, I'd say this was pretty spot on. On merger day we went to a big 'celebration' where after the speeches we were fed hamburgers. The worst hamburger I've ever had, 30% filler. My nickname for Condit was Phil-the-condom.
That’s was a super hot day in the Puget Sound. I distinctly remember driving home and having to pull over halfway home to puke out that “Merger Burger”
All my family used to fly a lot. Thank you for the good work you and the good old Boeing employees did. I'm so glad my flying days are over. If you can't even do a hamburger you have no business building planes.
wow 30 years at boeing without getting laid off, impressive
I remember those atrocious “merger burgers”. Remember the Phil and Harry bucks?
I find this one of the saddest American business stories. William Boeing was a visionary and a great man. The company was a pillar of aviation and a beacon of corporate integrity and greatness for over 70 years. To see it reduced to this is crushing. In an industry where mistakes will cause the death of every unfortinate soul on board, it simply doesn't allow for concentrating on anything other than engineering excellence. Boeing is one of the most important American companies and they have set a torch to it. It breaks my heart.
uh oh. were you writing this from a Boeing?
I fully agree.
@@owen-tromboneNo. I'm a 65 year old paraplegic living in Charlotte. I am retired and worked in food service and then IT. I love history, particle physics and baseball. I've had a fascination with aviation and have the time to read. I'm just some joe with an opinion.
I find it emblematic of the corruption penetrating U.S. political and economic world. Boeing is just an example that people in power don't work for the common good or excellence but are faking stuff and lying and stealing and there are no repercussions. And then at some point the lies are due and people start dying. That is why I predict U.S. empire is beginning to crumble. It seems unable to fix the corruption as politicians are just in it to get some fame and money and are not there to make things better. What do the congressional hearings change in corporate culture? Nothing. No one at Boeing will be held responsible, just like when Purdue pharma and Sackler family and just like with the predatory lenders that instigated the financial crisis in 2008, or Epstein. And these are just the top of the iceberg. The bigger corruption is just hidden, slowly doing its work - like water doing its damage in surfside condo.
MBAs ruin everything
I appreciate citing the Al Jezzerah story that came out a decade ago now about the Dreamliner issues which was an excellent investigative story that didnt get enough attention in it's day.
Also, Wendover makes the best video explaining jow the 737max came to be. It truly did the best job on the Max...
* Al Jazeera is the name. They also made "On a wing and a prayer" about the 737 NG build defects.
Boeing: *internal screaming
Airbus: *release new better plane
Boeing: *internal bleeding
Boeing is the sound it makes when the door springs off.
More like Booming
That is a very good idea. If Family Guy or other entertainment doesn't use that idea, I should.
Followed by roaring wind and barely audible screams of terror.
"Boeing" goes the door as it flies into empty space at thirty thousand feet.
Boeing is also the sound a plane makes when it hits the ground... without the bouncing.
Not telling pilots about MCAS is wild. It's like not knowing your car has lane assist. When your steering wheel starts "correcting" and counter-steering, of course you're going to freak out.
That and if the car's sensors give conflicting information the car just makes an unannounced 90° right turn on the highway. It's insanity.
considering MCAS forces the plane to land as fast as possible when it breaks (read: nosedive into the ground) of course they didn't tell anyone. pilots would've complained the plane was trying to kill them, the crew, and the passengers
instead, they can have two planes have the inevitable problem, killing hundreds, then blame the pilots because the system was shrouded in secrecy. isn't unfettered capitalism grand?
@@the_bottomfraggerThis is why I'm glad my car doesn't have lane assist, and if I ever get one that does, first thing I'll do is find out how to turn it off. I've seen zero reasons to trust any kind of auto piloting system in cars with mine or my kids' lives.
@@Lewkis01 FYI Lane assist is not what they just described, it will never fuck up that badly. All it does is gently apply a tiny bit of pressure to the steering to keep you from drifting out of your lane, it will *never* overpower your inputs, the motor that controls it just isn't strong enough to do so
I had one decide to cut the throttle in the middle of passing on a two lane road with oncoming traffic. on multiple occasions
Company car, we got rid of it at 40,000 miles after every driver (7) called it the Satan machine
"At Boeing, we're too big to fail. But we're trying."
"At Boeing, we're too big to fail, but our planes aren't."
"Let's risk your customers lives to make more money!"
Some time ago, Boeing arranged an annual rowing competition with a Japanese company that would take place in a rowing eight on a river.
Both teams trained long and hard to reach their highest level of performance. When the big day came, both teams were in top shape, but the Japanese won the race by a kilometer.
After this defeat, the Boeing team was very affected. Morale was at its lowest point. Top management immediately decided to find out the reason for this crushing defeat.
An internal project group made up of experts from various departments across the group was set up to investigate the problem and recommend appropriate remedial action. After lengthy research and analysis, it was found that the Japanese had seven people rowing and one man steering, while the Boeing team had one man rowing and seven steering.
After a closed meeting, top management immediately hired a renowned consulting firm to carry out a study on the structure of the team. After several months and considerable expense, the consultants concluded that there were too many people steering and too few rowing.
And again, after several conferences and meetings, Boeing management made an uncompromising, clear decision without hesitation. In order to create clear responsibilities, the team structure was radically reorganized. In addition to the rower, there were now four helmsmen, two senior helmsmen and a tax director. A performance evaluation system was also introduced for the rower to increase his motivation. “We need to expand his scope of duties and give him more responsibility.”
The group's supervisory board awarded top management an additional bonus for their extraordinary efforts.
The next year the Japanese won by two kilometers. Management responded promptly. It fired the rower for poor performance, sold the oars and stopped all investment in the boat. The money saved was paid to top management as a performance bonus.
In order to improve the starting position for the next race, the management decided to have the boat certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001.
..."At Boeing, we're too big to fail. But we're trying."...
Very trying.
They don't care what they do because the government will just bail them out if they screw up too badly or if something that every other business has to deal with (pandemic, economic crisis) happens to them too, the pattern has been established- top execs can still take lots of money, have no consequences, and stay in business by holding millions of employees' jobs hostage, and the US Gov't has to pay the ransom.
You work with Boeing ?
How the hell does the CEO of Boeing know so little about quality that he can't answer that question. The correct answer is something along the lines of "We have a rigorous quality control process that strives for zero defects. Any error in the manufacturing process that leads to a failure in service is unacceptable, and should a failure happen we refer to it as an escape from our accepted standard."
He knows enough. That's why he said quality control on it was bad 😂 for once they were sincere
...and someday my prince will come...🤴
Former quality control manager John Barnett tried to warn us, last week he was found dead with "self-inflicted wound" the day before his questioning in Charleston. RIP Hero!
On March 9th. Only 2 days after this show aired.
The whole story: he had given a days deposition. He planned on driving back up to his mothers house that evening. Boeing officials told him they wanted to finish the deposition the next day- to not leave. So he went to the hotel and then was found dead of gunshot wound in his car in the hotel parking lot.
@@Elysian777 And he told at least one friend: "If I committed suicide - don't believe it!"
There are already vids out about this.
With so much money on the line - ~100k for a good hitman is money well spent.
Of course - it might be someone inside Boeing. Or, somebody with a lot of money for many shares and no conscience. We're talking hundreds of millions here.
Buy - kill - sell. Easy.
illuminati?
MULTIPLE times
So to summarize: Boeing actually stopped existing in the late 90's and for the past 20 year's we've just had McDonnell Douglas with the Boeing name slapped on it like a sticker...
and in that time they've given us McDonnell Douglas quality while trying to ride the previously established quality recognition the Boeing name was know for...
And imagine being proud of that. The amount of flight disaster documentaries that I watched in the 2000s with MD planes but not Boeing unless it was pilot error makes me feel like it was propaganda all along.
Imagine that
Are you suggesting that à la survival of the fittest principle the legacy Boeing people were so weak they just got wiped out in favor of the McDD people?
McDonnell Douglas bought Boeing with Boeing's own money, then drove the quality in to the ground, like their planes.
That Boeing square circle swoosh logo was never Boeing's. Its a simplified MDD logo (7:05) that was created for the merger.
@@MM126.90 I googled Boeing to see their logo and instead found articles about parts of an engine falling off and that they hid another feature from pilots that automatically opens the cockpit door when the airpressure drops.
I've heard people joke to "never trust a business major" but this ain't a joke anymore 😭
There is a general misunderstanding about business majors (or MBA). This was meant for people who already have subject matter expertise, and want to learn the business side. For example I am an engineer, but I’m promoted to management. Or I learned everything about construction at my family’s construction company, and later I need to take the company over.
Business degree alone is worthless.
That's why I think MBAs are worthless, because only people with MBAs will hire people with MBAs
@@juzolino one who has any other skills would call themselves a business major first, though. if you're an engineer, you'd call yourself an engineer.
@@juzoli I actually did take a business admin course. It did not even take a month into it before I could boil down what the materials taught into this:
"How to do illegal and especially dangerous/evil sh^t and get away with it."
That experience with that course taught me the most important thing about wanting to run a good business - i.e. one that cares about its products, employees, and/or customers (though if you care about just one of these, you probably care about _all_ of them): _NEVER_ trust *_ANYONE_* who went to any sort of business school, especially not if business school is the _only_ higher education they got.
It never was.
When a comedian does better journalism than 99% of mainstream journalists today.
I mean, to be fair, he's presenting the results of a lot of fantastic team work.
What are you talking about, this entire bit is based on "mainstream journalists" work. There is no original investigations here by John Oliver, he just added the jokes, all the factual parts are taken from mainstream news channels. You can even see all the sources when they play the clips.
I was a flight attendant during the time the 737 Max was released and it’s chilling to think about all the times I flew on this plane, all the while trying to ignore the news stories about other flights that had crashed. We were being lied to and told we were safe when we actually weren’t.
You were probably safe from the MCAS problem. 737max models sold in the North American market did not have the single sensor problem. That was a problem on planes sold to lower cost airlines, mostly in Africa or Asia. Other quality problems obviously were still present.
So I wonder if the meeting went something like; 'Any of the questionable aircraft will be sent to Asia and Africa. No one is going to care too much about them '.
@@stoneman28 They probably didn’t need to have a meeting to do that.
@@dinochiesa3787What? I’m a flight attendant, there is no Max plane that doesn’t have 1, as in singular, angle of attack sensor. That’s what a Max is. There is no other variation of Max that doesn’t have MCAS and/or more than 1 angle of attack sensor. If you fly on a Max, it’s the same type of plane sold anywhere in the world. I don’t know who told you otherwise but they were misinformed
@@Cometcast12ooo, thanks for the information. I don’t know why I thought that airplanes sold to lower cost airlines had different AoA & MCAS setups than the airplanes sold to US airlines. Hm.
I have a military contractor friend that describes working with Boeing as working with "a bunch of frat bros in charge of millions of dollars of equipment"
I mean, to be fair, that’s often just what engineers are like… 😆😆🤷♂️
Your friend is wrong. It's billions of dollars of equipment XD
I don't think it's their fault; Boeing's managerial negligence is to blame. For example, they've been cutting jobs for years now, and overworking those still there as a result.
Don’t blame stock price chasing and mismanagement on engineers
@@Sbinott0 In my experience, working level folks of all functions were the most focused on the safety & reliability of the products. Upper management, not so much. And it all breaks down when middle management doesn’t have the courage or ability to push back on top level BS or communicate effectively/truthfully in either direction.
About half a decade ago I had worked for a Boeing vendor in Seattle, made the plastic parts that went into overhead bins/windows/tray tables and a lot more. A lot of our stuff was made in China from a 'partner' company and the companies QC was so bad we lost our AS9100 certification multiple times. That's one vendor, I can't imagine the QC process at Boeing itself.
Imagine, the 737 Wing is built in China by a sub-contractor. They won the contract because it takes a person of very short stature to climb inside the wing's fuel tanks to weld it from the inside.
Spirit in Wichita forgot to replace the bolts...😮
Boeing laid off hundreds of quality inspectors in recent years so that’s probably not a good thing
OMG that's terrifying.
@@danielgregory3295OMG. Spirit airlines might be aptly named. Dear God.
Month later, another whistleblower is down, this time to a sudden onset of bacterial infection. Either Boeing is WILDLY unlucky that all the whistleblowers are suddenly getting toe tagged, or it is getting creative.
Watching this while on a plane is one of the most insane things I’ve done to myself in recent memory
Did you make it? 👀
@@bribri0786 I hope we get a reply. Otherwise... 😞
I hope it was an Airbus
Please let us know if you arrived safely 🫡
@@babsbunny_ Oh they died fo sho
This is tragic to see. My grandpa retired from Boeing in 1995, shortly before that merger and before the company spiraled out of quality control, and he was so proud to have worked on planes for over 30 years, and his enthusiasm for planes was felt by multiple generations of my family. The whole reason we lived in the Pacific Northwest at all was because he worked for Boeing, and regularly, he used to take my cousins and I to the Boeing Museum of Flight to share his passion for engineering with us. Before he passed away last year, he did mention to me how disappointed and devastated he was in Boeing as the last decade and a half has slowly tarnished the company he once proudly worked for. As someone who wants to see this company succeed so we can all continue to fly safely in the future, here’s hoping they can get their shit together.
Thank you for writing, may your Pops RIP 🌹 My Dad came out in the late 60s to interview, but he turned it down, returned to Detroit, and in subsequent years, never let us fly on a Boeing craft. 🤝🇺🇲
Add: "before more people are KILLED"
My mother worked for Lockheed. That sense of security and pride that employees felt in the 90’s seems to have vanished. American craftsmanship isn’t entirely non present, perhaps just not as pronounced as it once was - and that is quite unfortunate.
This is so sad. The worst part is that the upper executives don't care because by the time it tanks, they've hoarded millions of dollars in their bank accounts.
I used to work in a lab that did quality control on aluminium that was sold to both Airbus and Boeing.
I was always baffled with how little Audits we had for Boeing compared to Airbus. Where Airbus pretty much requires you to triple check and proof the validity of every number you put into a report Boeing was always more of a “yeah sure, if that is what you report us that probably is true”
We could have written complete bs in our reports to Boeing and ironically it would have only come to light in an Airbus Audit…
Having your competitor audit your stuff might not be the worst idea from a safety standpoint.
@@JohnDoe-rl9ft
Yeah... No, because Airbus wouldn't tell you anything😂
Why would the company actually spending money on safety, do your job?🤣
@@JohnDoe-rl9ft
What you describe is called Open Sourcing.
The issue - you can not protect 'industrial secrets' with Open Source systems.
Personally, I don't see that loss as a real threat but large companies cry about this all the time. To the point that Election Machines produced by big companies are filled with 'industrial secrets' they don't want anyone else to know about. There is perfectly good Open Sourced code out there, stuff we know is safe because *everyone and anyone* can audit it, but it will never be used.... because everyone can see everything.
@@JohnDoe-rl9ft Actually, that's exactly what happened. After the Ethiopia crash, Ethiopia government refused to send the blackbox to Boeing for analysis. Instead, they sent it to France and had it analyzed by Airbus.
@@qichen85based.
those whistleblowers dying so conveniently is wild
Isn't that him at 5:07 ?
"We went to business school."
Once upon a time, business administration was under the domain of trade schools. Some four-year colleges provided it as a minor at the bachelor's degree level. Their philosophy was that knowing how to administer a business was not as important as knowing the business you wanted to administer.
That would make a lot of sense. My minor was in Business Administration with the same idea that it would be a good supplement. I kind of regret it because all of the classes were so underwhelming. They felt like remedial courses, namely their remedial maths requirement. I would even recommend to those struggling balancing their minor and major to consider switching to business admin since it was pretty minimal effort.
@@Hotshot3334Any coloring activities?
@@NoTraceOfSense I doodled a lot in class instead of taking notes and a friend would bring me colored pencils, if that counts.
There’s nothing that gets me more irate than workplaces that are horrendously structured and have 3 million Band-Aid solutions instead of fixing the actual problem
Most American businesses
Ultimately spending more money over time instead of just properly fixing the problem in the first place. But long term waste doesn’t impact quarterly reports as much as the proper solution would so this is okay. That’s capitalism baby!
I can recommend the book Bullshit Jobs
And then society claiming that the government is the problem, the reason all these bad things happen to companies and needs to be less involved because Biden is an anti-christ... Don't forget about that
@@thegodplace7887 Other way around its lobbyists telling government that its cool, look at all the money they can save by letting them hire and fire their own inspectors. In fact SCOTUS has a case coming up about just that wether or not constition allows government to use its own workers to inspect companies or we should only be able to let them inspect their own shit lol
The part that gets me is that this is happening to every industry. I work as a maintenance manager for an apartment complex and the amount of work load that they expect on me and my technicians is ridiculous. They only care about profit, not about safety.
PS John Oliver…you are the best! Thank you so much for providing humour and vital information at the same time. No one does that as well as you.
I briefly worked for the company that paints the planes for Boeing. I was initially interested to learn about the process, but left the job horrified by the fact that if the sanding wasn't perfectly even, the external metal panels might slowly rip off due to the force of the winds. And my managers and coworkers didn't even remotely seem to care.
New fear unlocked
As a retired Air Force acquisition manager I had a lot of interaction with aircraft manufacturers, 1990-1993.. Boeing, Lockheed, Beechcraft were the airframe makers. Of the three, Beechcraft was the most responsible and worked the hardest to attain quality standards. Lockheed was set in their ways but could be talked to. Boeing, on the other hand, was like they thought they knew more than we did, knew what we wanted more than we did, knew what we needed more than we did and always wanted to transfer a lot more money than we did. Cost overruns and product delays were the norms. None of this surprises me.
Glad to hear Beechcraft was representing! Their company has taken some weird turns historically, but I think they've done a great job designing and building great and innovative aircraft. I'm glad to hear their corporate culture was one of excellence while you worked with them.
Boeing did know more than you guys did. It was their job to know more than you. I guess you haven't gotten over tha hit to your ego 30 years later
@@coordi If the 30 minute video you are commenting under is anything to go by, they did not, in fact, know what the customer wanted or needed. If anyone needs to be checking their ego around here it’s you
@@NeoCreo1I think what they are saying is that you are referring to the time period before the merger, which was not discussed much in this video other than to say they had high standards. I think Oliver didn't mention why Boeing may have decided to merge with a company with a bad reputation, and this behavior you're talking about might be why. It sounds like they didn't strike the right balance between doing it right and making money, but the other company took it too far the other way.
@@coordiI hate to tell you this, but the customer knows what they need too. The manufacturer may not be able to provide what they need or may need to tweak things to realistically meet those needs, but that doesn’t change that the customer knows what they want and need. If someone asks for scented trash bags to help with the odor in the kitchen, offering odor control bags is within the realm of “I’m an expert and I think this will fit your needs better” but it doesn’t sound like that’s what was happening.
The actress in the blue suit absolutely ATE that role up. She was fantastic!
Rose Byrne. (Hottie Alert!)
"…and sometimes it's (quality) so far in front, that it escapes! WHOOPS… […] …Get back here you!" 👌
I'm surprised she didn't mention her cousin/husband.
Omfg no way! I did not even recognise her! (always liked her when I was a kid)
and yes, she did a fantabulous job, no wonder since shes a pro actress.@@justayoutuber1906
I love that remark of "I want to make products that have a global reach and a global impact" in the commercial talking over the footage of a hypersonic missle at 5:06.
You sure it's not their X-51 Waverider experimental aircraft? Looks close enough for a low poly render.
Glad someone else caught that. I'm not sure it was a render of a missile or a space launch system thing, but definitely gave a "ah, yeah, Boeing also makes weapons" vibe
@@toastoftriumphYeah I imagine it is, but that basically means its a hypersonic missle to which they are yet to strap the warhead on, but indeed it is more nuanced. Thought it was a funny pun though.
Hahaha
Guess one also achieves that by having them drop out of the sky in multiple countries with lots of casualties. Was probably cheaper to them. Hell, even the military guy was worried. When they are being deployed even for someone with an office job at the base getting bombed counts as a normal Tuesday. If someone goes to war but stays clear of Boeing...🤯
This is exactly what Edward Deming trying telling American car makers in the 70s (and 80s) about their decline in quality. They laughed at him and he went to Japan, where Honda and Toyota embraced him. He became a legend there while helping Japanese car makers overtake the “made in America” declining symbolism. Interesting lessons in management.
And now I want to leave this country and find one that makes sense. 😥
Lots of Americans and Canadians have been moving to the beach down here in Southern Baja. Mexico is very very free and it's on a steep upward trajectory (for Mexico)@@HazelwithaZ
Unfortunately aviation isn't being outsourced to Japan who has quality engineering. It's outsourced to China, India, and the cheapest labor possible. Part of union busting in aviation.
@allthingsnm354 there is still Airbus in Europe, they still take quality serious. They overtook Boeing in 2019 becoming the biggest aerospace company and most airliner companies have fully switched to Airbus now for their new models, lets hope they dont merge with any other company.
@@MyAnalyser I believe that. I'm going back a little further in time when there were mass layoffs and maintenance is not what it used to be in the U.S.