Frontline Season 40 Episode 18 Boeing's Fatal Flaw

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed, killing all 157 people on board. It was the second Boeing 737 MAX to crash in less than five months, after Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea and killed all 189 passengers and crew on board in October 2018. The cause of both crashes was a faulty sensor in the 737 MAX's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which caused the plane's nose to automatically tilt downward, leading to a deadly nosedive.

In Frontline's season 40 episode 18, titled "Boeing's Fatal Flaw," the documentary investigates what caused these deadly crashes and the role of the Boeing company in these tragedies. Through interviews with aviation experts, industry insiders, and victims' families, Frontline reveals a pattern of neglect and incompetence from Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other regulatory agencies that prioritized profits over safety.

The episode begins with a detailed reconstruction of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, using cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder data, as well as newly-released satellite imagery. The investigation reveals that the pilots struggled to regain control of the malfunctioning aircraft, but ultimately failed, and crashed at a speed of over 600 miles per hour. The episode then explores the timeline leading up to the crash, including the design flaws of the 737 MAX, the FAA's lax regulatory oversight, and the pressure from Boeing to rush the aircraft to market.

Frontline uncovers evidence that Boeing knew about the problems with the MCAS system before the first crash, but did not inform pilots or airlines about the risks. Furthermore, the company leveraged its close relationship with the FAA to expedite the certification process, hiding critical information from regulators and pushing for minimal pilot training requirements. The episode also delves into the culture at Boeing, which prioritized profits and shareholder value over safety and transparency, and examines the responses from the company's CEO and former CEO, who were both confronted about their culpability in the disaster.

Throughout the episode, Frontline speaks with multiple sources, including former pilots, crash investigators, and government officials, as well as family members of those who lost loved ones in the crashes. Their emotional testimonials provide a human dimension to the story, highlighting the devastating impact of the negligent corporate practices on the victims' families and friends.

"Boeing's Fatal Flaw" ultimately serves as a scathing indictment of the corporate greed and regulatory failures that led to the deaths of 346 people. Frontline's in-depth investigation sheds light on the intricate web of decisions and actions that culminated in this tragedy, leaving viewers with a sobering realization of the consequences that corporate neglect can have on individual lives.