Safety and Quality Control Challenges in Aircraft Production

This week, “The Daily” is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of 2019 and checking in on what has happened since they first appeared. Today, we return to our conversation with the whistle-blower John Barnett, known as Swampy, about what he said were systemic safety problems at Boeing. After two 737 Max jet crashes killed a total of 346 people and a federal investigation left the company in crisis, we ask: Is something deeper going wrong at the once-revered manufacturer?

Guest: Natalie Kitroeff, a business reporter for The New York Times, spoke with John Barnett, a former quality manager at Boeing. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• Boeing successfully lobbied to reduce government oversight of airplane designs, allowing them to regulate faulty engineering internally.
• A congressional investigation last fall asked what Boeing knew before the two crashes.

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