On the surface, Boeing appeared to be facing accumulated technical problems in recent months, from electrical failures in the Max cockpit, deformations in the 787's hull, and delays in the 777X.
But many observers say it is the result of an oversight of its performance.
Ken Herbert, aerospace specialist at Canaccord Genuity, sums it up: "Unfortunately Boeing is currently under a magnifying glass, which is justified."
After the two crashes of its new 737 Max plane that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, the Seattle giant has been the focus of numerous investigations.
Boeing and the journey back to confidence :
Its president, Dave Calhoun, took office in January 2020 and has the difficult task of restoring confidence in the company. He will have to explain his position Wednesday, when the group's quarterly results are published, about the latest setbacks.
Boeing announced in mid-July that it had detected new flaws in its long-range 787 Dreamliner that could have reduced production rates and delayed delivery of the aircraft.
The group discovered several manufacturing defects last summer, particularly in the airframe.
The FAA also warned Boeing in May that it might order more test flights before certification of the 777X wide-body aircraft in the future due to a lack of technical data.
Electrical problems in the cockpit of some 737 Max planes in April led to the temporary freeze of nearly 100 planes delivered to customers.
The group also failed to deliver the two new models of the presidential plane, Air Force One, while the KC.46 catering plane faced several problems.
company culture :
There are many reasons behind these problems. It may have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as the group and its suppliers face the same staffing and supply problems as the rest of the economy.
The decision to move 787 productions to a single site in South Carolina may also have caused confusion.
And a parliamentary report published last September on the Max incidents highlighted a change in company culture after the 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, with more attention paid to financial profits and less attention to engineering problem-solving.
In particular, this report pointed the finger at the manufacturer's "culture of concealment" as well as poor oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The investigations have shown the failure of both sides, one in its role as a manufacturer and the other in its supervisory role,” says analyst Bertrand Filmer, president of aviation consultancy Aakere.
"They're trying to get it right, the FAA by being intransigent in what they ask for, and they inevitably find shortcomings," he says.
The same opinion is expressed by Hassan Shahidi, head of the Air Transport Safety Foundation, explaining that the recommendations issued after the MAX crashes are currently being implemented, with new risk management systems translated with "more oversight and transparency."
Communication defect :
Boeing says it has worked "systematically" over the past two years to improve safety.
In the case of the 787, for example, the company made "the decision to slow down production to conduct additional inspections and possibly carry out some repair work, even if it sometimes affected operations."
The FAA, for its part, insists it is ready to check all aspects of safety.
For example, in May, when Boeing proposed an algorithm as a way to check 787s, the Federal Aviation Administration requested that deliveries be suspended so that the data behind the proposal could be examined.
A source within the FAA told AFP that it no longer wanted to accept the group's claims, but rather wanted to see the data.
Ken Herbert of Canaccord Genuity says the recent setbacks to the 787 highlight issues with internal communication, as Dave Calhoun has repeatedly assured that the problem will be resolved quickly.
Herbert adds that the issue is "being able to spot and resolve bad news in a timely manner...that gives the impression that the company is not approaching the situation from a comprehensive perspective".
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