Analysts say Boeing slows down to become owner of 737 crashes: NPR

After a second 737 Max crash in Ethiopia, it took Boeing weeks to talk openly about what role his flight control software could play. On April 4, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said, "It is our responsibility to eliminate this risk – we own it."

Critics say Muilenburg and Boeing waited too long to say it.

Questions about the safety of the 737 Max go back to October 29, when an Indonesian aircraft Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea. At the time, Boeing issued a terse statement expressing "our deepest condolences to the families" of the 189 victims. Early investigations showed that the 737 Max failed had faulty data from a sensor.

But Boeing also said that the same plane had flown the day before with the same faulty sensor – and that another crew had managed to keep control.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, explains that Boeing's response has been to point the finger at pilots overseas. "We asked if the pilots had followed the good routines at the start and if they had been properly trained," he said.

In the aftermath of the accident, Boeing issued a newsletter highlighting what pilots should do in case of defective sensor. It does not mention that the sensor is feeding an automated flight control software feature called MCAS, suspected of forcing the Lion Air aircraft to sting from the eye. The FAA has certified the 737 Max to fly without requiring pilots to train at MCAS or even that they know the MCAS.

After that, business resumed as usual and orders continued to pour in for the 737 Max, the fastest jet in the company's history.

On March 10, a 737 Max piloted by Ethiopian Airlines crashed, killing 157 people.

Over the next two days, countries from China to Europe have immobilized the plane.

But in the United States, Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg announced that the company was developing an update to its MCAS software and that the FAA did not require any further action. And Muilenburg even called the White House to tell him that there was no data to support the aircraft anchoring.

Erik Bernstein, vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management in Monrovia, California, said the reaction could have been to protect Boeing legally. "You do not want to say something that is then translated by a court as an admission of guilt," he says.

He says that in the short term, tactics could also have a financial benefit.

"I suppose they were selling these planes until the day they failed, or at least that they tried to do it," he says. "They prevent business partners and investors from being scared."

Boeing said that it was not avoiding responsibilities, but rather waiting for the facts to appear.

"Aircraft accident investigations are tragic, horrible and sad, but they need to be supported by facts and data," said Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Richard Levick, CEO of communications company Levick, based in Washington DC, said Boeing's response was not good. "They were not personal, they were not empathetic, they spoke like engineers and they were not very visible," he says.

Levick says that Boeing has not convinced the public in flight of the safety of the aircraft. A revealing moment was when Kayak.com offered passengers to filter the 737 Max from their flight options.

On March 13, three days after the second accident, the US government laid the aircraft on the ground, claiming that it had new information linking the two accidents.

And soon after, Muilenburg recorded his first video message on the 737 Max hangs.

"We are taking steps to fully reassure the airlines and their passengers about the safety of the 737 Max," he said.

But he still went on to explain the cause of the accidents.

On April 4, Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges said the pilots had followed Boeing's instructions.

"The crew performed all the procedures provided several times by the builder but was not able to control the aircraft," she said.

It is there that the public posture of Muilenburg has changed. In a carefully worded message, he acknowledged that MCAS added additional risk to the cockpit.

"As we said the pilots, the erroneous activation of the MCAS function can add to what already constitutes a high workload environment," he said. "It is our responsibility to eliminate this risk – we own it and we know how to do it."

"We own it" has since become a slogan for Boeing.

Last week, Muilenburg spoke at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas and told the crowd that in recent weeks "have been the most heartbreaking of my career."

"These recent accidents have intensified our commitment to continuous improvement as we design, build and support the safest planes in the sky," Muilenburg said. "That's what we do at Boeing, we own it."

It was a safe audience – Boeing gave millions of dollars to the George W. Bush Institute and Muilenburg did not answer questions. And Muilenburg has not granted an interview to the press since the second of two accidents.

Still, Bernstein says Muilenburg has taken a small step in the right direction. "And I think it opens them to become really more compassionate with their communication," says Bernstein.

There is a disadvantage. Houston lawyer Nomi Husain is suing Boeing for negligence on behalf of the victim's family. He says that Muilenburg's new approach of taking responsibility gives ammunition to his case.

"This admission, I think, helps us overcome the obstacles of neglect," said Husain.

Boeing must have its software patches approved and its additional pilot training put back into the air. Once done, the new transparency may help convince passengers that the 737 Max is safe to fly.