Following the incident involving a 737 Max aircraft in early January, which raised concerns and drew attention to safety standards in Boeing airplanes in general, former high-level executives and engineers at the company have issued warnings for travelers to avoid this aircraft category as its flights return to service. Ed Pearson, a senior manager at Boeing, stated that he would never pilot a Max aircraft again, mentioning a recent explosion during a flight operated by Alaska Airlines. He noted that he worked in the factory where the aircraft was built and witnessed the pressure on employees to bring the planes back into service, according to the New York Post. Pearson also indicated that he tried to convince the company to halt this aircraft model even before the Lion Air crash in 2018, which resulted in the deaths of all 189 people onboard.
Meanwhile, former Boeing engineer Joe Jacobsen, who also worked at the Federal Aviation Administration, issued a similar warning, affirming that it is too soon for this model to return to service. He emphasized the need to avoid traveling on this aircraft category as much as possible, claiming that his time at the company made him realize that profits took precedence over quality control, according to the New York Post. He stressed that the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to allow the aircraft to fly again was "premature," pointing out that he and other safety advocates have sounded the alarm for years regarding various safety issues with both the Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft.
