Letters to the Editor: Boeing’s 737 Max woes show what happens when profit trumps product

To the editor: After the latest issue with a 737 Max airliner, it’s clear that the problem at manufacturer Boeing Co. is management. (“‘Truly terrifying’: Investigators describe the blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight,” Jan. 5)

The first 737 Max disasters were caused by the company placing finance ahead of product, and this problem is the same. This is how American auto companies were ruined.

Top management needs to be in love with the product ahead of the bottom line. The only companies that should be headed by the money guys are money companies such as banks.

I’m a retired accountant. We’re good at many things, but not so much “the vision thing.”

Paul Malykont, Los Osos

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To the editor: In the Alaska Airlines near-disaster, a fuselage plug where a door was designed to go blew out during flight. Why not just compel Boeing and the airlines to fit fully operating emergency doors and slides to all doorways, regardless of passenger capacity?

It’s simple: The more emergency exits, the faster the passenger egress in a crisis. The goal of evacuating an aircraft in 90 seconds should be an upper limit rather than a target.

“Too expensive” is not a viable excuse to avoid doing this, when lives and the structural integrity of the aircraft are at stake. The additional fractional cost per aircraft is trivial compared to ensuring passenger safety and trust.

David Pieri, La Crescenta