2019’s top business story: Boeing’s 737 Max troubles

Chicago-based Boeing was in crisis mode for all of 2019, with its reputation on the line. Its 737 Max jets, the key to the company’s future in commercial aviation, were grounded because of two crashes that killed 346 people. Then came a company behavioral pattern that critics say amounted to denial and dishonesty about its role in the tragedies.

The personification of it all was CEO Dennis Muilenburg, fired Monday after the board decided new leadership was needed to restore trust with aviation authorities, customers and suppliers.

Investigators suspect the crashes — a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight in March — were due to a faulty sensor reading that caused software to push the planes’ noses down. The pilots were unable to regain control.

Airlines canceled or delayed orders of the 737 Max and the Federal Aviation Administration still has not allowed the planes back in the air. On Dec. 16, Boeing said it would suspend production in January of the 737 Max at its plant in the Seattle area. The FAA, criticized for lack of oversight in the model’s design, has said it — not Boeing — will decide the timetable for any return.

Throughout the year, Boeing was denounced by the flying public, aviation experts and members of Congress for responses that sought to minimize or deflect blame. Muilenburg early on suggested the pilots, not the design, were at fault. Boeing belatedly acknowledged what internal documents showed, that its own staff worried about the 737 Max’s flight control system.

Boeing has settled some lawsuits related to the crashes, and it is discussing compensating airlines. American and Southwest airlines have estimated a loss of $1 billion between them because of flight cancellations caused by the grounding. Some airline employees are saying they will refuse to fly in the 737 Max until they are satisfied it is safe.

After hitting an all-time high in the spring of more than $446 a share, Boeing shares were off by about 25% as investors try to tally the impact on earnings. Others connected to the company might worry about more lasting damage, as expressed by Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association, in a November letter to union members: “Boeing will never, and should not ever, be given the benefit of the doubt again. The combination of arrogance, ignorance and greed should and will haunt Boeing for eternity.”