FULL INTERVIEW: Former Boeing manager turned whistleblower Ed Pierson
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- Опубликовано: 10 янв 2024
- A former Boeing manager turned whistleblower talks to KIRO 7 News about the safety of 737 MAX jets following the shocking midair blowout of a door plug on a flight out of Portland.
I worked at Boeing for 40+ years. I had the privilege of working with Ed as we developed a maintenance services product for airline customers. I can confirm that Ed’s character is solid. Ed is honest and full of integrity. We should all be grateful he is doing what he is doing.
I feel for the dedicated high-time Boeing employees that had to watch their company degrade from one of the greatest in the world to the incompetent company it is today. Even more sad, it's happening all over America, in business and in politics...
The ODAR that signed off on the 8130 for that bird has a lot of explaining to do.
My husband who passed away 4 years ago worked at Boeing, Mesa AZ on the Apache helicopter line. He said the guy that did the final inspections and signed off on each Apache had not been inspecting them and just signing off. It had gone off and on for 3 years! When my husband found out about it they did fire the guy but they had to know this was going on. Just no one wants to do anything like tell management. This had to be 6 or 7 years ago this occurred because like I said, my husband died 4 years ago.
@treaddirt Greetings from far West Texas.
In your own opinion, do you believe the move of Corporate World Headquarters from Seattle to Chicago and now Arlington (further and further away from the primary, and majority, manufacturing site has had a detrimental affect on the company as a whole?
I remember when the move to Chicago took place. For some reason, at that time, my gut told me : Well, now begins the slow downward decay of another great American industrial icon.
Perhaps I'm forgetting other Boeing history, it seems there have been numerous hiccups in various projects since that time.
I, for one, sincerely hope Boeing reverses course.
Thanks in advance for your reply.
PEACE and be well.
@@warped-sliderule Well said.
As you will see in my question I presented to @treaddirt, my questions about Boeing's future began way back when it was decided to move World HQ to Chicago. It seems many, shall we say, questionable decisions appeared on the scene thereafter. Case in point : The long drawn out and delayed Dreamliner and the hiccups that ensued shortly after it's launch in to service. Made me wonder if Boeing was taking on a General Motors "development model," i.e. get 'em out there on the road and we'll address the issues as they come.
Not an intelligent model to operate under considering the fact that once your 100ft off the ground if you come crashing down you're not likely to survive.
Having worked in the transportation sector for a total of 42 years (14yrs in Heavy Duty Trucks/Tractors/28 yrs in automotive) it is apparent the focus is on stock market share price and not on the quality of the product(s) and services provided.
Seeing how we treat whistleblowers these days, this man is very brave.
@@burgersbeansandchips yeah, no. Corporations control the state from McDonald's to Uber to Walmart to Facebook. Rideshare drivers earn less than $4 an hour at times. The money makes the rules.
@@JustGoAndFlyYeah, no.
welcome to germany circa 1930's... and its your own fault.
How do I know he is "brave"?
@@briant6984this isn’t a state secret but yeah
PROTECT THIS MAN AT ALL COSTS
This comment didn’t age well
Too late
@@KityCrylics this isn’t the same whistleblower that was found dead, so there still might be a chance
@@KityCrylics different person
@@KityCrylicsyes it did!
Whistleblowers are probably THE most devoted employees of any organization - they are willing to put their entire lives and careers on the line to expose problems so the organization can take corrective steps to get better.
Or, they are drama queens
Safety is our number one priority. Unless it costs money? Thanks Ed for going public.
Safety is our top priority. Is one of the most common lies in industry and government…in all sectors. Quite often the people saying it believe it, which is even more dangerous.
It’s a problem with financial capitalism. It’s what underpins the entire economy. Late stage capitalism is a failure across the board. Banana republic.
@@lcstyle2029there is a difference between capitalism and corporatism. The US is now fully a Corporatist country.
@@DrDeuteronIt really is a lie. Currently developing a new product for an industry and it’s an absolute face palm that it hasn’t been implemented already. But it has to do with worker, client and environmental safety which is not shocking that the ball has been dropped. But what’s even more telling is my biggest selling points will be that it saves the company and industry money. Save the environment with saving their pockets. We all know which selling point is more important to them. Sad really
@@beantown5343 It boggles my mind that people say "safety is our top priority" about anything to do with aircraft. If safety was the top priority, we wouldn't be sticking people into aluminum tubes loaded with gas and flying them through the air. It's a bullshit corporate buzzword that means nothing.
Never seen a Manager at a major company maintain this much eye contact. Every word he said was honest. Very few of these execs can do an interview this long and answer every question straight to the point like this man did
As a retired airline pilot who flew ONLY Boeing during my whole career (B757-200 and -300, B767-300ER and B747-400 and -8i) and who loves Boeing aircraft, I am thankful for such honest people like Ed Pierson, who speak up and address all problems honestly as they are. Boeing must wake up now and improve, to come back to it´s full strength and potential. There is no way to cut corners. The FAA is a big part of the safety issues and they must change aswell.
The FAA DID "change". The father of "cut Gubment" (who cashed EVERY ONE of his "Gubment" checks) originated the idea that deregulation would 'enable companies to do their own checks'. I remember lots about Reagan. I remember that I liked him until just about his second year as President.
It takes years to undo what is already in place. The New Deal was one, another is the conscientious government personnel who do their jobs in infrastructure safety well for decades, eventually replaced by under-trained, under-funded "new blood" - but their presence at Boeing for example, is a fraction of before.
Thank you for your input! God Bless,!❤
@@gladysvogel9442 thanks too. Actually the Horror around Boeing seems not to end. The very obvious assassination of John Barnett makes me even more speechless and desperate. I feel so sad for John and his family and friends. I know that there will be no crime investigation and even no jurisdiction of this case, because it’s organised crime. Boeing is a mafia company and THE PEOPLE must stop their evilness.
God bless and protect all whistleblowers. Rest in peace dear John 🇺🇸💙❤️🤍
You think this is what you were flying around 🌍 ?
@@thegreatestmantoevrwlkthep9986 and what's YOUR problem?
I worked for a Boeing supplier in the 90's-2000's with unethical management. I was a delagated FAA be rep and was constantly told to step down when identifying issues. I flagged a safety issue and went through eight engineers and managers before anyone would listen. Most of the time there were no safety issues but Quality Engineering was considered a "necessary evil" that the company was mandated to have. This man is a hero in my opinion and thank God there was (in my case) and currently is a balance in the industry that has prevented even more incidents.
I was a senior engineering manager at a major contractor (can't say more). Cutting QC was what prompted my exit.
It might be time to consider if Boeing's leadership should face criminal charges. I think so.
Absolutely! Unfortunately that will happen the day after pigs fly (a species that is more reliable than Boeing at this point).
They have HUGE DoD contracts and a near monopoly on US military aircraft production.
Corruption truly is everywhere. Woohoo.
But You know they are all Pigs and have Pig Friends in the Republican Party , so no .
US corruption has no limits
As a 35 year Boeing employee who left, I completely agree with everything he said!! 787 has equal issues.
That's sad as she could be an exceptionally good aircraft, her concept fits perfectly for so many airlines that she could end up being one of the most successful aircraft of all time.
One slightly different point....... her wing design is probably the most beautiful wing since Concorde.
Spitfire.
Concorde.
Dreamliner.
It
It was built in Renton. If you ever been there you would understand what I'm getting at...they have a reputation...
@@gooner72Quit personifying airplanes.
With that cult-ure there, ALL of their planes have equal issues.
He is nervous, probably somehow scared, and brave, but essentially, he is an Engineer. A f* good one. He's what you expect to find in a company like Boeing. Much respect from an Airbus one.
But he's white, isn't he an oppressor? That's sarcasm.
"Wouldn't step foot" on a 737 MAX and "would not build that plane anymore" because they are "not solvable". Horrifying.
And now they care more about hiring a certain race and not the best pilot
@@Mattology1what could ever go wrong? I think passengers have an absolute right to know if their pilot was hired due to merit or because how they look. Same with surgeons.
@@Mattology1you are a sad hateful individual
@@bobbyb5546💯
Didn't 3 of them go pitch down into the ground, because of MCAST??
As a long time Airline Mechanic myself, I appreciate this man's Integrity and Ethics.
I honestly can't believe Boeing thought they could be the ultimate integrators by outsourcing the complicated components like composite airframe, actuators & electronics in order to distance themselves from liability and higher overhead union payroll.
Also relocating their Corp HQ from Seattle to Chicago. Then, a couple years ago they relocated to Arlington Virginia in order to join the other Lobbyist Felchers with the goal of limiting regulations & getting over bloated government contracts.
The entire executive board needs to be replaced with engineers, material scientists, mechanics & safety inspectors who have actually worked at Unionized Boeing factories
I see a guy with his name on a lot of paperwork over there, so he's trying to get whistleblower protection and cut a deal.
He already left the company last year. He’s doing this with no other motive than to inform the public.
hey Jeff, they are hiring quotas now.. how you like them apples ?? huh ??
@@user-cr5kc6pb7t
Right, because you can't be prosecuted if you leave before the authorities catch you. The Green River Killer got screwed, he should've had you as his lawyer.
"I'd stop building the max if it were up to me" Thats all you need to hear right there!
It's westjet planes and air Canada planes the fly all day everyday it seems 😮
Yet, Southwest is longing thousands of flight hours daily with the the MAX. It’s a good thing you don’t work for Boeing or the NTSB. For context take a long look at all the crashes and incidents surrounding the advent of the Boeing 707 and the MacD DC-10.
@@ASMRFoodieEatsI have been a loyal customer and love flying with Westjet, but from now on I will be looking at which Bowing planes they use.
This guy needs to get promoted to CEO he’s absolutely correct.
What qualifications does this guy have to be CEO? Have you fact checked anything he’s talking about?
I am a pilot. I fly jets. Some of the items he listed are purely dishonest if you categorize them as “safety issues”.
Aviation is a very nuanced and complex world that the general public has a poor understanding of…and unless a huge swath of the population suddenly decides to become obsessed with it and study their butts off, it’s going to remain that way.
I could take an MMEL which, among many things, outlines all of the equipment that can be inoperative on a modern airliner but still be legally allowed to fly with passengers…exaggerate the hell out of items on that list that people don’t understand, and manipulate the ignorance of the public by saying “LOOK AT ALL THESE BROKEN PARTS THEY’RE ALLOWING” and the public would eat it up.
It hits the same part of our brain that gets worried about shark attacks at the local beach. We easily fear what we don’t understand and can’t see.
I’m not excusing Boeing for the potential lapse in judgement or sound practices that have led to challenges with the MAX, but be cautious of the people who can just as easily attempt to capitalize on this situation by being misleading and dishonest.
Taking what this guy says with a grain of salt is probably well advised.
@@sleepyhorses6100 I fact checked what he is saying, i've also seen recording done inside factory where they have mountains of problems.
He is right, this planes will soon cause additional fatalities if nothing is done.
He actually cares, not money driven
My question, why aren’t we having emergency congressional hearings on this matter?
Bc BA is a branch of US government
Because Congress is broken too, for the same reasons :(
Imagine trusting congress you must be gullible to trust a government
Because congress is buddy’s with boing and the make military planes for them it’s there 💰
$
Safety slogans are not safety programs.
Safety programs are not safety ACTIONS and MEASURES.
I lost count of how many former BOEING employees speak out about this in the comments on videos on this subject,
No kidding ... "More with Less" is NOT motivational to Employees.
@@craigsowers8456 15:57 What he says here is extremely important. Since his time, maintenance tech schools have become shorter, leadership at those tech schools is not as knowledgeable, and less emphasis is being placed on fundamentals and theory of operation. Not to mention the fact that the are combining a ton of career fields and pushing this new "multi-capable Airmen" bullshit which is just a fancy way of saying "do more with less". This is a serious problem in the Air Force right now and it WILL get people killed.
Thanks for pointing that out ... and yeah, folks will not make it thru. Sort of like spinning 360's on black ice ... not much to do but pucker up and wait for the crunch. Sad.@@ChoChan776
A friend retired from Boeing after a lifetime working there and said he will never fly on any Boeing products again.
Did he give another alternative?
@@snorttroll4379Although Airbus has had their issues, their quality control is x10 better than Boeing right now.
Airbus all the way
Boeing was merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Some Boeing engineers blamed managers from former M.D. (After merging they became managers at Boeing) that these former MD managers led the Boeing company in the poor, inferior, wrong way, wrong leadership. i.e. Boeing, after merging with MD, has done less and less design, but more and more integration, because Boeing has overly outsourced lots of major components to contractors/subcontractors, including foreign countries; consequently Boeing engineers have lost valuable design skills. Engineers of contractors, including foreign contractors gained important, high tech, and even airplane top secret engineering/technical skills. Boeing current CEO has bachelor's degree in accounting. He emphasized on Boeing finance and stock prices. I think Boeing needs a CEO with engineering/technical background.
And it's a shame. When I worked there, the mantra was "If it ain't Boeing, I'm not going".
I’m a captain on the MAX and NG and I can confirm what he’s saying at 04:37. FMC failures on the MAX are a constant, never had on the NG
I gues the FMC isn't going to replace the pilot any time soon.
I definitely feel the NG fleet was the last of the best engineered 737's the NG's while with computer upgrades and such they still have some of the old Boeing quality which was better these new Max's they are not fit to fly and are not built with stronger designs
@@drewski1535 I agree, although the NG had its developmental problems too, being rushed to market before the bugs were worked out. The first ones had flap and trim problems the engineers couldn't figure out. One of the senior "riggers" figured it out and tried to tell the engineering department how to fix the design flaw but the MRB board blew him off, seeing's how he's just an hourly guy and all. He rigged a few and solved the problem proving he knew what he was talking about. When MRB asked him what the fix was, he basically told them to pound sand. Those 2 little spiral memo pads that he always had in his shirt pocket FULL of know how notes went with him as he retired a few months later. That was before I got laid off in 2000 and the same thing happened at Lockheed Martin, management does not listen to people beneath them. I doubt it'll ever change. The only manager that did was Tom Elliot at the Renton flightline.
Thank you for sharing this
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead in this last week prior to final questioning, then Ed Pierson who has more publicised stance on Whistleblowing of what goes on at Boeing seems alive and well thank goodness ! All very strange!
He was assassinated by Boeing, 100% no question. This is scary
@@KillersFromTheWest facts
Now the second whistleblower has been found dead.
Boeing's decline started when they started using MBA trained people in leadership positions. Put an engineer there and watch the changes occur. The engineers are acutely aware of the issues.
The push for MBA's Running companies has ruined America. It's been good for stock prices, but bad for business.
It's all good for profits to cut corners until they get a real disaster, tank the company stock, walk away with 100 million dollar golden parachutes and roll in the next group of slimebags at the helm for fresh pr where they can pretend they are turning over a new leaf.
Don’t slam the MBA’s. I have an MBA from one of the most quantitative businesses schools in the US. Trained on using calculus, quantitative analytics, computational simulations etc to solve problems and develop strategies. I’m as much of a numbers person as an engineer. The problem is the mission the MBA’s are told to pursue by senior management. Boeings problems are C-suite leadership problems and an unaccountable board. A complete replacement of these individuals is required to solve the problems at hand.
Same with the automakers in the country. I saw an interview with the CEO of F0RD. The guy didn't even know the charging time of the F-150 Lightening.
Still won't fix the problems IMHO ... until "Quality" has autonomy it will continue unabated. "Engineering" doesn't have a lock on "Doing it right ... the first time". But as noted in a comment above, current Generations don't have the mindset to do the job 100% ... and that's who's getting hired ... MBA (like that is a qualification for excellence LOL), youngsters thinking they can build Aircraft on a Laptop/App from their desks. As "Veteran" workers exited and were replaced (without Mentoring/Training), this is when Quality/Safety went awry IMHO. The way it works is that if you are in "Quality", you have few friends and your name will be scrawled on the bathroom walls.
The entire board and CEO must promptly resign, or be dismissed!
They need to be fired, resignation should not be an option. Any deferred income and other payments, should be cancelled. And then, Calhoun should be investigated for his role in this mess.
@@DP-8964But they probably produce profit for shareholdes so they won't be fired lol
and cancelled. so theyre not all recycled into other industry companies
I think they should be prosecuted and thrown to jail instead.
This guy is bad faith. As someone with an actual connection to Dave Calhoun, that guy is brilliant and wants nothing but success for Boeing. Success which can only obviously happen with trying to fix Boeing’s already shit standards of safety BEFORE he joined the company. Even this clown had a moment of clarity when he admitted “this is a complicated problem.”
As a former pilot, it amazes to this day that we still fly this plane. Ground them all unless you want to see another disaster. Unbelievable…
Make this man the CEO of Boeing! When ethics pays. Kudos.
Seems this man isn’t just out to cause a stir. He seems to be most interested in taking a realistic look at the situation and finding a solution. Big respect.
Should be reinstated as the CEO of Boeing, cares and gives a f;ck
Should be reinstated as the CEO of Boeing, cares and gives a f;ck
@@jdekong3945 This is capitalism my friend.
CEO's arent meant to care, that's the job of customer care.
CEO are meant to make shareholders happy as long as the legal and human resources departments all see no issues with the law.
that means cutting corners (cutting costs) is the most capitalistic power-move te ever be done within a corporation
@@The-Cat I would say shareholders probably got very itchy ringpieces when they saw the payouts for all those murdered passengers! we are not talking about a consumer product that has the odd defect due to a bit of sskimping on quality but actual death. Just speaking casually to some friends after the door plug incident aand the consensus is "I will not step foot one one of those planes". Capatilism doesn`t seem to work to well when you have reduced customer confidence, those shareholders will move their wealth to safer prospects. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
@@jdekong3945 The payouts are done via insurance, never out of own earnings.
So still happy shareholders as long as stock values holdsup.
I work at a small business in Renton. Around 2014 or 2015 a former Boeing engineer was one of our clients. He left the company and was starting out on his own. When he spoke to the manager, he was adamant that she should avoid flying on a 737-Max at all costs. I didn't know what a 737-Max was at the time and had no idea what he was talking about. We thought it was strange.
Scary - glad this dude spoke up. He seems 100% sincere.
I feel so bad for all those people who lost their loved ones. Hopefully something good comes from this and those 346 people and their families are honored and remembered.
Praying for your safety Ed Pierson
Ed, former 37 year FAA inspector here. If Boeing has an SMS it’s non-existant. Dealt a lot with Boeing repair stations. Total disaster. My guess one of the issues is in Renton at final flight test prior to airworthiness certificate issuance. Also, suppliers, especially Spirit. And yes, the FAA “leadership” is a joke but in their defence, it reflects our country’s culture at this time.
Do you mean DEI-wise?
@@eduardofarias5397 you, know, a lot of people complain about the effects of DEI, but these things have only been around for like two years at the vast majority of institutions, and they're not very effective. A review of DEI programs in universities in FL and preliminary results of a review of DEI programs in TX found they have zero effect.
This was embarrassing for all sides. DEI proponents were embarrassed because it proves these things just sanctimonious PR and marketing fluff. DEI critics were embarrassed because it turned out there was no grand conspiracy to promote on the basis of race, and the institutions were as meritocracy as ever, DEI had no impact there.
There are other researchers and consultants who have found similar results. DEI is mostly marketing fluff, for the vast majority of institutions and companies.
I don't know if you're saying the FAA leadership team has been crafted unfairly based on minority status, or Boeing's executives have, but both of those are just flat wrong. It takes two seconds to simply Google their websites and see, no, these are just a bunch of finance people running Boeing. Which is what every engineer working with them has said for 15 years. The finance guys are making dangerous planes. If you can find a single engineer from Boeing blaming DEI, it would be news to me.
Finance people destroying businesses and getting paid millions to do it, that's a time honored American tradition, and it is much deeper roots than DEI.
DEI. You nailed it. Probably, not perhaps, the root of the problem.
@@josephnason8770 DEI is the root of the problem? how does that work? DEI has only existed few years at Boeing, and it looks like they've had basically no impact.
If DEI was really a root cause, then why doesn't Airbus have similar problems?
If you can find one person who has real knowledge about the problems at Boeing, like the poster above, who says DEI promotion and hiring was the problem, I'll eat my shoe.
You are missing what's in front your face. 100% of people who know about this are saying the problem is a lack of engineers in leadership and management, and management has chosen to cut back on safety and quality as away of making money. Outside of Boeing, the government refuses to hold them accountable (...because Boeing has a monopoly. If you hurt Boeing in any way, you're harming the entire US civil aviation industry).
If you still want to project DEI onto that somehow, and just use your imagination from your armchair, go ahead. There's no evidence indicating DEI has contributed, much less caused, these quality issues.
The problem is that authorities will no longer allow open defects on critical components - they all have to be signed off and closed. But signing off an intermittent defect, does not mean it is fixed - it merely covers the problem up. How does anyone know if an intermittent problem is fixed?
In the old days we were honest, and gave a warning of a potential problem to the next crews, so the problem could be troubleshooted further. Nowadays, every problem is a surprise to the next crews. How does that aid safety.?
Lawyers, HR departments, and DEI drives are destroying many industries - aviation especially.
R
We need more people like this man.
He dares to show his face. We need more people like him.
This needs more attention because it is absolutely fascinating. This is the world we live in now where reputable companies are falling apart, because of horrible CEOs and directors.
Yes!!! More will be exposed and FALL. Pluto is going to be in & out of Aquarius this year then we will be rocking & rolling in Aquarius for TWENTY years in November of 2024. That hasn't happened since 1777 to 1798. If you know any history those were GRAND times!!!😂❤😂❤
Ed Pierson has balls of STEEL. I can’t imagine the things he saw and the conclusions he came to that influenced his decision to voluntarily leave a high paying prestigious job to speak up against the poor standards that have become the norm at Boeing. He’s correct, I’ve worked in a related industry of aircraft component repair and overhaul and I can say with all certainty that the bottom line is ABSOLUTELY perceived to be the absolutely first concern of upper management/ownership. Of course that is the reason to be in a business but it MUST NOT take the place of producing a quality product that FLIES. You can’t just pull over the the shoulder and check things out. Boeing’s lack of ethics and responsibility is ABHORRENT !
He's going to get a book and make more money than he wouldve ever made at Boeing. Seems like a good dude that said.
There'd be a dirt squad on his tail to discredit. Institutional sharewholders have Number One priorities too.
Mr. Pierson is a rare man of integrity. I flew on Boeing's for 55 years until the Max. Now it's Airbus or Embraer.
its one thing to avoid the MAX but pretty silly to avoid other 737s and other 7 models
Oh, and they can go fly a kite.
Do you seriously book your tickets based on the plane they will possibly be using?
@@overthetip100% yes
Hey if you want to possibly end up dead in a plane accident, then by all means disregard this. .
Please protect this man at all cost
Ed Pierson,
Thank you for your courage and commitment to safety.
I proudly flew every Boeing product from 707 to 777 for some 40 years.
Like you, I am devastated to see what has happened to the company we loved. Where Bill Boeing and Joe Sutter created the “Incredibles.”
The men and women who built the greatest aircraft ever, the 747.
I was hired at Boeing after age 60 retirement from United Airlines, to teach the not so ready for prime time, the 787 Dreamliner.
What I saw in the Renton training center was complete chaos!
About the same time Boeing BOD and the upper management went to war with their greatest assets, the “Incredibles.”
The rest is a sad, even criminal history, you and I are very familiar with!
Captain Ross Aimer,
Boeing/United Retired
Ross rocks
Ross! You were the pilot in the simulator interview of the max I saw. Can confirm Ross Rocks.
Thank You for sharing❤❤❤
Thank you so much, Ross, for your testimony here. It must be hard to see the company you once served proudly making these poor choices and endangering lives for the sake of profits and bonuses. Thank you for your years of service to the public and for bravely speaking out here.
Boeing lost a great asset when this man walked out the door.
The nation lost a treasure when Ed Pierson died last week of AVFS. (Acquired Vincent Foster Syndrome)
The best part: when I knew that my plane was a Max I step out of it! I love coherent people.
This really struck home! JFC!
That’s all I needed to hear
Time stamp 6:05
Protect this man!
We need more people like this man, especially at Boeing.
Ever since the McDonald Douglas merger, the culture has change dramatically. Stonecipher changed Boeing and transformed it from an engineering company to a financial services company
"Stonecipher" is a name thats indicative on its own
McDonnell not Mcdonald 😂😂😂
@@mark675McDonald was more accurate. I work on the defense side. Actually, it’s still a good company. But the lazy B (Boeing commercial) laid down during the merger. Everyone has half of a job up there and rank and file employees do what they’re told. I hated Stonecipher. We fired him.
@@ghostrider-be9ek He has no ethics........got caught having an affair with a female employee.
@@mark675 only you care. They would probably screw up a Big Mac too
Bravery and integrity come in many forms. This is one of the finest examples of that. Thank you for helping protect us.
Thanks Ed for helping us keep our families safe
He's put his hardwork, career, future of him and his family on the line. Please don't let it be in vain. Thank you Ed ❤🙌
Very brave! You can hear the emotional pressure he's under. One man in a group of a thousand... Thank you, Sir!
Thank you for sharing the truth. These guys in charge should be put in jail. Unacceptable
Spreading this as much as I can. Great interview. Thank you, Ed. Your bravery does not go unnoticed.
Did he mention he is NOT suicidal?
Awesome interview. Mr. Pierson is stating everything that needs to be said.
Sadly we’re soon going to see Boeing shareholders and politicians getting their pockets lined hiring fake accounts to try and discredit ED!! But too many people have already agreed with ED. Do you remember that video that came out a few years ago? Where 10 out of 15 Boeing employees said they would not step foot on BOEING dream liner problem. Quality and safety issues started when McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1989. Period.
Sadly we’re soon going to see Boeing shareholders and politicians getting their pockets lined hiring fake accounts to try and discredit ED!! But too many people have already agreed with ED. Do you remember that video that came out a few years ago? Where 10 out of 15 Boeing employees said they would not step foot on BOEING dream liner problem. Quality and safety issues started when McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1989. Period.
I really like this man - he's passionate and to the point. Boeing should swallow their pride and let this man (and people of his choosing) back in to get them back on track.
*it’s pride. Boeing is not nonbinary, and corporations don’t have gender. Yet.
Engineers supervising Engineering🤷♂️
Top man. Everyone please listen to this man. Give him all the support he deserves.
Trouble is, at every aerospace company I've worked for; well meaning, clear headed, educated and experienced technicians, be they mechanics, avionics, electricians or whatever, have told upper management the exact same things this man has told this interviewer. Nothing changes and the only reason we were not fired for our unsolicited advice is because we were in a Union. If an under manager said these things to their superiors, his desk would be cleaned out by noon. They don't want to hear it because they know "better".
Thank you Mr. Pierson for speaking up for all of us (Aerospace Engineers, Flight Crew, Passengers). Your honesty and courage is admirable and above all very important. Wish you best of luck in contribution to turng this industry into right direction. We are all behind you. Hope this comment finds you.
Boeing should just rename the MAX to MIN in order to keep expectations in check.
Lol 😂
No, MAX checks out. MAXimum profit.
Maximum ground impact
Very brave and ethical man. Major respect!
God bless this man. This is what a real man acts like.
Ever since the Alaska Airlines door plug incident, I've been waiting to hear Ed Pierson weigh in on what happened. I have listened to all the episodes of his powerful podcast, "Warning Bells", and this interview underlines what Ed has been saying all along: that the issues are systemic, not one off flukes. Thanks KIRO 7 News.
Happy that a local broadcaster/television station covered this even if not so professionally. I'm typically not a local news fan.
Actual hero. Calling out all these cronies for cutting corners!
This is terrifying. Thanks Ed for sharing this with the public.
I'm a retired QE and QAR with an OEM of fuel delivery systems used by pretty much everything that flies whether military or commercial, with Boeing being one of my charges. What this gentlemen is saying is very true and doesn't apply to just Boeing. The biggest problem in this and all industries is that "quality control" does not MAKE a company money but rather COSTS them. When manufacturing companies make internal cut-backs in efforts to increase profits, Quality Departments are usually the first to suffer.
So all planes NOW 😮 😢
I had worked on Boeing aircraft for years and was very impressed with the products they were producing. Then in 1999 found my self out of a job so I had heard Boeing was hiring. Turns out they were hiring but they were not paying for experienced help. They hired people with almost no aircraft experience so they would not have to pay fair wages. It didn't take long for the contracts to fall behind and work and to be redone do to poor quality. This was the beginning of build it anyway just save a buck. It's been that way since. How they managed to get away with it this long is what amazes me.
Boeing was merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Some Boeing engineers blamed managers from former M.D. (After merging they became managers at Boeing) that these former MD managers led the Boeing company in the poor, inferior, wrong way, wrong leadership. i.e. Boeing, after merging with MD, has done less and less design, but more and more integration, because Boeing has overly outsourced lots of major components to contractors/subcontractors, including foreign countries; consequently Boeing engineers has lost valuable design skills. Engineers of contractors, including foreign contractors gained important, high tech, and even airplane top secret engineering/technical skills
Corporate Carpetbaggers.
@@jeep146 I don't know how they were hiring in 1999 because they laid off 30,000 people the next year from the Puget Sound and Wichita plants. I got a pink slip for Christmas in 2000 and it took people off the flight line that had way over 10 years seniority.
Was a defense contract that they won or took over I know they sure didn't want laid off workers from there. They were looking at paying dirt wages with little benefits. Just as well I took a better job at a TV station.
capitalism sacrifices every aspect of reality to increase the wealth of overlords
We need more people with this kind of courage! And we need way fewer people like the current CEO of Boeing. Here's a valuable tip for the FAA…walk right through the management office section and talk to the people out on the factory floor…they will tell you what's wrong and what needs to be done to fix it!
Unfortunately the FAA is extremely underfunded. I suppose the powers that be are not seriously concerned about aircraft safety. That's the big problem here.
@@bighoss9705
That falls squarely on the sloped shoulders on the Secretary of Transportation🤷♂️
@@bighoss9705 The FAA is just another act in the Dog & Pony Show. Corporations misbehave, the public raises a stink , the Feds create an agency that supposedly is going to be our watchdog, then underfunds it and handicaps it in a hundred other different ways to ensure it can't do its job. Problem solved!
a great man. we need more people to speak out against corrupt companies. the leadership team should be fired
Huge thank you for being a whistle blower and risking retaliation for the sake of public safety!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you for speaking up! Boeing share holders should make this dude CEO 🚀
That'll go against their primary goal. The short term.
@@dooshdashcams2629 the people will end up taking the bud light route and it will become the short term quick. Short that boeing stock and never step on 37max until its fixed.
The shareholders are a big part of the issues.
Unfortunately, the FAA isn't much better. Every industry cares more about profits than safety at this point. It's not surprising Boeing has been able to ignore safety standards for so long with the FAA lacking their own safety standards. It's sad, because they were the best at one time. Boeing started caring about profits over people at some point and I doubt anything will change now.
I worked in Boeing's commercial engineering and software organizations for almost 30 years. Over the years many rank and file employees have wanted to redesign the 737 and transform it into the modern airliner it should be but corporate management has always resisted this idea. It's been clear for some time that the current 737 airframe with its low wing is not a good fit for the larger diameter higher efficiency turbofans that will be needed to keep the 737 competitive with Airbus well into the future.
Why the 707's wing box used as a starting point? It attaches to the same fuselage and accommodates longer gear legs. Wasn't there a re-engine program for 707 to use CFM56s? I believe C-137s as well as E-3s have these (not only KC-135s), so adapting the new engine to this wing box, gear leg length should make it easier.
so true, 100% agreed.
The fact Calhoun was more concerned about the impact of the door plug popping on customer airline operations than about the traumatic experience for the passengers on that flight says it all.
Great interview! Thanks for posting!
He is absolutely correct. I have been working in Aerospace Quality since 1980. I retired in 2020. Things are very different now than they were back in the day. What is common practice now was unthinkable back then. I'm glad I'm out of it.
well planes crash far less frequently now
The problem is that authorities will no longer allow open defects on critical components - they all have to be signed off and closed. But signing off an intermittent defect, does not mean it is fixed - it merely covers the problem up. How does anyone know if an intermittent problem is fixed?
In the old days we were honest, and gave a warning of a potential problem to the next crews, so the problem could be troubleshooted further. Nowadays, every problem is a surprise to the next crews. How does that aid safety.?
Lawyers, HR departments, and DEI drives are destroying many industries - aviation especially.
R
Yes you just pray that someone down the line catches the mistakes.
Plz testify before Congress
Yeah Mr. pretend Aerospace man, planes crash far less now, so figure that out.
When the CEO of an airplane company is an accountant, it makes sense to disregard safety, and sound manufacturing practices and quality control, and prioritize maximum profit and cutting costs.
That's the problem with most companies in America these days. They have leadership that simply does not understand the technical aspects of it, and only care about profits for the shareholders.
Take a look at the way the US Navy does it with their aircraft carrier. You cannot, by Naval regulations, be the captain of an aircraft carrier without being a Naval aviator.
Boeing was merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Some Boeing engineers blamed managers from former M.D. (After merging they became managers at Boeing) that these former MD managers led the Boeing company in the poor, inferior, wrong way, wrong leadership. i.e. Boeing, after merging with MD, has done less and less design, but more and more integration, because Boeing has overly outsourced lots of major components to contractors/subcontractors, including foreign countries; consequently Boeing engineers has lost valuable design skills. Engineers of contractors, including foreign contractors gained important, high tech, and even airplane top secret engineering/technical skills. Boeing current CEO has bachelor's degree in accounting. He emphasized on Boeing finance and stock prices. I think Boeing needs a CEO with engineering/technical background.
To the above comment - Check your facts, former CEO Dennis Muilenberg has a degree in aerospace engineering, when the MAX 8 MCAS incidents happened people with engineering backgrounds were actally part of upper management not accountants.
The issue with Boeing failures are systemic and root causes are multiple they don't necessarily just stem from people's qualifications.
Having lived in Kent and Tukwila (Washington) in the late 1990's early 2000's. I personally knew multiple people who worked for Boeing and sub-contractors of Boeing who were in critical inspection positions and QA who were daily meth users. The fact that they were tweaked out on the job has had me grounded from flying ever since.
Why didn't you turn them in, like a responsible American citizen? Civic duty.
Lmao, way she goes
Thank you Sir! I worked on 747-400 IDS program and I have to state that there was 3-4 levels of approval.
1 line of code has roughly 40-70 hours of testing.
So proud of the safety record of 747-400
Sad to see how MAX program has so many issues.
X-Collins SW Eng.
I flew on a 737-9 max a couple of weeks ago x Baltimore and the plane had noticeable airframe vibration going through approximately 15,000’ on climb!!
Wasn’t turbulence and was significant for me as an airline pilot to notice!
I’m definitely not a fan of flying on any Max aircraft for the foreseeable future
Boeing needs to clean up its act and quality control and the FAA needs to keep them accountable!
Yikes! Between this comment and Mr Pierson's, Count me out!
The position of the engines create more stress on airframe?
This is what happens when you charge an arm a leg and a kidney to educate those interested in working in the aviation industry. You are left with a very small pool of entitled, wealthy and arrogant individuals to draw talent from. Now your airplanes are crashing.
There are zero wealthy people working on airplanes.
Poor people is who Boeing hires. They hire them because they are cheap. And they are cheap because they know nothing. Let alone their own worth.
I'm so glad he's coming out about this information...... I stopped flying on the max after the first problems....
I love the concept of 'healthy planes.' What an incredible manager. Grateful for his honesty & his bravery.
Thank you for speaking up and airing this
As an airplane mechanic, I will not fly my family on any Max either.
Thank you so much for speaking about this!
This man is a hero nobody should criticize him thank you for your service
It takes a lot of bravery and courage to come out like this, I respect anyone who comes forward and addresses the public.
I lived and worked in Huntsville AL for over a decade. Home to many high tech companies.
What I found was the endemic attitude of "don't tell the boss of any problems".
Where I worked, the company began losing $30m or so, every quarter. It was rumoured that the CEO founder woud ask at each quarterly meeting: ïf you all tell me that your division is doing well... then tell me how come we are losing so much each quarter?"
It was the don't tell the boss syndrome.
I was asked to investigate and report.... a few years later at a restaurant, the ex-VP said to me: ÿou're the bastard that cost me my job". Don't kill the messenger? If management at the VP level is so out of touch with what is happening, there is no hope for the company as a whole.
Boeing suffers the syndrome. It's so big and diverse that top management probably doesn't even know where the shop floors are.
Thank you, Ed Pierson! Thank you for caring about people’s lives and the Boeing legacy which my father is a part of from the early days when engineers were the most important people at Boeing. And thank you, KIRO. Every other interview is short and unsatisfying. This is a great public service. ❤
This is upsetting. It’s the height of irresponsibility to put people at risk. It’s criminal irresponsibility.
Thanks Ed! It's so important that you have the courage to speak up.
Thank you KIRO for having the courage to broadcast this interview. For the sake of the flying public Boeing and the FAA has to do what this great individual recommends. It's not the plug door issue, it's the production over safety culture present at Boeing right now. I wish more networks would televise these interviews to let the public know the root problem behind the Boeing 737 Max 9 issues. Thank you again.
It is disheartening to witness the decline of American ingenuity and technology. We have the potential to achieve so much more. Let's strive for excellence!
In a different industry, I was the secret magic elf that stayed late (sometimes to 1 AM) to fix fit-and-finish problems before the equipment was crane loaded on the shipping truck the next morning. It was leaving no matter what.
Unpaid because salary, but it was important to me that the customer got what they ordered.
Secret elf method won't work at a 24/7 operation. I'd have been shaken down. It's also really bad (apparently) to take photos to document before and after fixes. It's not as if anyone would be fired, but floor workers seem to think it would somehow affect their standard 3-4% raises.
Take a worker in for yearly review. You did really good. That's why I'm giving your a 3% raise. Next worker: your performance needs improvement, that's why I'm only giving you a 3% raise. Do better.
This is commendable, but is also a risk factor in itself, if no final inspection is done by a well rested person. So not a solution -more of a desperate attempt at fixing things the management doesn’t care about.
Thank you for doing this, Ed.
Thank you so m7ch for doing this ❤
Great info, worked at Boeing too, disaster in every dept. No leadership.
Was this her first interview? She was awful, embarrassing for the network
Thank you for your transparency!
I just flew to salt lake city utah from atlanta. I made sure i flew out on a 767 because i just like the plane and flew on one to england several years ago. When booking our flight back, i avoided an earlier flight due to it being a 737 max because i watched the documentary on the two crashes. My dad and sister didn't understand my reasoning, but watching this interview just 2 days later just reassures me that i made the right decision. I dont fly often, but i will never fly on a max. Thank you, Ed, for your commitment to the safety of everyone.
Thank you for your Candor…I hope shedding light to these problems will have a turn around and spark a new focus on fixing the issues…Thank you for your honesty and courage 👍👍👍👍👍
An Airbus person here. It is interesting what he says about Dave Calhoun being seen as big deal, walking the floor. I will not get into a pissing contest as I know there are zealots on both sides, however, we don't see that level of detachment from Guillaume Faury. There is a culture of speak up at Airbus and management take it very seriously. But Airbus is not without its flaws. However, we address them as an engineering company, not a Wall Street Company. I am hypothesizing, but potentially Boeing has gotten worse as Airbus has caught up and in the bread and butter market of the single aisle, Airbus is now number one. Cutting corners to compete using a 1960s plane is a recipe for disaster and flogging the venerated but ancient airframe of the 737 is pushing Boeing to take on design risk that was a factor in the two crashes a couple of years ago. Boeing is playing catch up now to Airbus in the single aisle and is really not used to that situation and is making mistakes as a result. In the longer term, neither company wants to have to invest in a new model for that segment because it is very, very expensive, but if Boeing go for a clean sheet design, Airbus will follow, unless it stretches the A220. So potentially it is a case of who blinks first with a new model that will undoubtedly have to be radically different from what has gone before in terms of power plants, environmental footprint etc.
How many times in the last 40 or even 50 years was the 737 going to be redesigned as a new clean sheet design? Between the 737 and the 757 did the management shutter the wrong program?
This man speaks the truth ………I do hope this is taken seriously and the FAA put down layers to stop these issues ! 😢
The FAA needs to have the employees for real oversight if that what is missing. But that smacks of big government and the majority of citizens seem to be railing against it these days.
The FAA is a big part of the problem.
They never act to clarify anything. They always make everything ten orders of magnitude worse than it would be otherwise.
I am floored. So grateful for this man for coming forward
Love the uncut version!
This is the outcome when the accounting department & shareholders relations is listened to more than the engineers. Profits first, quality & safety a distant second.
Well think about incentives. With insider knowledge they know when the big production push is happening, when the cash is coming in. They have months lead time to sell shares and time their exit when the problems begin to show up. With the use of shell companies or "friends" they can even short the stock. The whole point is to sew the seeds of chaos to profit from it. Like puncturing tires if you have a business franchise selling tires, but on a grander scale.
Boeing was merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Some Boeing engineers blamed managers from former M.D. (After merging they became managers at Boeing) that these former MD managers led the Boeing company in the poor, inferior, wrong way, wrong leadership. i.e. Boeing, after merging with MD, has done less and less design, but more and more integration, because Boeing has overly outsourced lots of major components to contractors/subcontractors, including foreign countries; consequently Boeing engineers have lost valuable design skills. Engineers of contractors, including foreign contractors gained important, high tech, and even airplane top secret engineering/technical skills. Boeing current CEO has bachelor's degree in accounting. He emphasized on Boeing finance and stock prices. I think Boeing needs a CEO with engineering/technical background.
Protect and listen to and revere when a person knows what is happening... It's a gift he is giving to society... Do something useful with what he is sharing...
I like that this video is raw and not edited, I like the true transparency.
As someone who has worked in quality control in American factories I am happy Delta uses Airbus on routes I fly. American factories use temp workers, most of whom don’t care at all about what they are doing.