Ethical Failures Behind Boeing 737 MAX Crashes: A Cautionary Tale

Boeing’s 737 MAX Troubles. Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Instructor’s Name Course Number Date What happened to Boeing’s 737 MAX airlines? The morally irresponsible ethics depicted by Boeing is a subject of concern due to the lives lost following the eminent crashes. The mystery surrounding the fatalities caused by the two planes Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019, was horrifying, claiming over 350 lives. The airline company was grounded for 20 months after two accidents occurred in similar situations. The main subverted ethical principle was the plane's engineering ethics involving poorly designed software. The crash of the two plains gained global attention on the culture and practices of Boeing Company. According to (Herkert et al., 2020), the flight data recorder recovered from the wreckage contained information on the faultiness of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), designed software for the MAX forced the Norse of the aircraft down 26 times in ten minutes. Many blamed the MCAS software and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for violating engineering ethics. Boeing wanted to compete in the market with its rival airline, Airbus, and engaged in an unhealthy plan that led to its detriments. Airbus raised its bar with the A320neo jetliner, a fascinating A320 narrow-body aircraft. The aircraft was fuel efficient and extensive, giving it accolades in the market. Boeing tried a similar approach with the same engine upgrades from 737NG to 737 MAX gaining a base in the airline market. The pressure by Boeing to maintain its rivalry with its competitor raised a significant challenge in engineering, and Boeing resorted to designing the 737 max brand rather than getting a new aircraft (Herkert et al.). Large and fuel-efficient engines were a threat to the design of the aeroplane. The design choices caused the risk of the possibility of a nose-up stall in certain flight conditions. The engineering problem at Boeing was out of negligence and the lack of ethical engineering principles. Boeing owed a duty of care to society. However, they violated the ethical principles in the engineering context on the fundamental canon, informed consent, and precautionary principle. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics, the first fundamental canon of ethics, stipulates that engineers are paramount to the public's safety, health, and welfare. The company design entailed simple and cheap warning displays alerting pilots, and if the software had been appropriate, the pilots could easily d