Thread by @bansisharma

1. Consummate Skulduggery American Style (Speculative Thread)

Something was seriously wrong with the engineering of Boeing's 737 Max airplanes. A very expensive product had a serious flaw. Redesign was too costly, so a software fix was made to compensate for a hardware problem.

2. That's just about as succinctly as I can describe a very complicated engineering issue, but then again, forget the technical details of the issue itself. Just know that it cost lives and Boeing is in big trouble because of that, quite rightly so.

3. Boeing is losing an enormous amount of business and its liability for the lost lives is off the charts, so much so that its very existence as a business could be threatened. Much as I would hate to see such malfeasance or incompetence go less than fully punished, I am torn.

4. Boeing is also an enormous national asset, and any serious dismantling of Boeing has serious national implications, including to our national security. So there is a part of me that wants this issue to be resolved with minimal damage to the nation/world as a whole.

5. So I observe what's going on around Boeing 'investigation' with an uncomfortable mixture of scorn and fascination. With that backdrop, allow me to bring your attention back to this news item I started with, and comment on what I see.

6. You see a fuck-up like Boeing's is enormously serious. Boeing made an egregious mistake. Govt bureaucrats also fucked up big time (this happened under Obama admin, but personally I don't believe the President was complicit) in approving what should never have been approved.

7. There is incompetence and/or villainy all around. Many heads should roll, both in Boeing and government (both FAA and if it turns out any political leaders or appointees in Obama admin were also involved, they should be exposed too).

8. But if you're Boeing and have so much at stake but also have enormous resources, assets and connection in government, what do you do? Well, you engineer a fascinating kabuki theater that I see unfolding in front of my eyes. Whistleblowers prompt a Senate investigation.

9. Now we have all heard of whistleblowers who take enormous personal risk to report on the malfeasance of senior and powerful decision makers in a company and/or government who need to be punished severely, right?

10. But have you ever heard of whistleblowers blowing the whistle on ... wait for it ... 'lack of training?' Serious Senators and govt bureaucrats will now tussle for days, picking apart the umbras and penumbras of technical training and certification processes, seeking insights.

11. In other words, we have found the enemy and it is inadequate skillset that can be fixed by better training. Phew! Problem solved. No heads need to roll after all, and with such diffuse reasons for such an enormous tragedy, perhaps the liability can also be severely contained.

12. Say what you will, the professional class in Washington D.C. is truly another wonder of the world in its ability to perform all sorts of magic tricks to fool the people. There is no better theater in the world.

The End.