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Comment by kahirsch | Hacker News Reader

When the Boeing CEO had his press conference in April, he said "we've confirmed that the MCAS system as originally designed did meet our design and safety analysis criteria and our certification criteria."[1] I yelled at the screen "you know that means the criteria are flawed, right? If the procedures didn't catch this mistake, that means there are other mistakes that weren't caught!"

A flabbergasted reporter then asks him if he means to say that MCAS was designed to push the nose down 21 times. The CEO then blamed the pilots for not following procedures!

He repeatedly avoids avoiding admitting that any mistakes were made. He was so intent on avoiding blame that he gave me no confidence that Boeing could learn from its mistakes. The longer he talked, the less confidence I had in Boeing as a company.

I have no idea why this guy still has his job.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOQmQpKHVWA&t=9m30s

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Meanwhile he claims 737 will be their safest plane ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE4tX0eIDEQ

Edit: unsure if this video is correct, but the MCAS system is classical "solution" to how in software a junior programmer would patch their software by adding more complexity to the code without realizing what that changes would further affect. It felt like they gave up on some solid solution and just decided to added a sensor who would overwrite pilot manuver.

A similar situation would be downgrading a size of tires on a new model of a car (to be competitve with other auto makers that lower the price) and simply adding software blockage that you cannot turn wheels as violent as you could before because on thin thread that would lead to a car tipover.

The whole video - if correct, paints a grim picture of profits above PAXes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2tuKiiznsY

Admitting culpability more or less admits financial responsibility as well.

If Boeing would say "we're at fault", people would sue them (more than now) and have greater chance at winning those lawsuits, since Boeing already admitted to being at fault.

I can imagine Boeing, and the Boeing CEO, is trying very, very hard at walking a fine line of not admitting being at fault, but also saying that they are "taking responsibility" (since they have 300 souls, public opinion, and lawmakers against them). They have to convince people (those that matter, ie those stopping operation and sales) that the MAX and Boeing are safe.

Can you imagine killing 300+ people and then having to talk in such a way to accomplish that down the line the least amount of money will go to the families of the victims? This man has really has no soul.

With all the attention on this plane and the resources Boeing has, they really should have caught this before the FAA.

The question asked in 14:05 was super clear, and he repeated like a parrot the same thing he had said earlier during the press conference.

You can't be serious! Did you literally yell those words at the screen?! That's pure madness.

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