5 Terrifying Corporate Cover-Ups That Actually Happened
Dark5
On October 29th, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610, carrying 189 passengers and crew, plunged into the Java Sea only 13 minutes after taking off from Indonesia. The pilots had reported flight control issues and requested to return to the airport just moments before the fatal dive.
The ill-fated aircraft was a recently introduced Boeing 737 MAX that was equipped with a new flight stabilization system called MCAS. Developed to counteract the plane's tendency for its nose to lift during certain maneuvers due to new, larger engines, MCAS was seen as a cost-effective alternative to an expensive structural redesign. This innovation also allowed the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the 737 MAX as another version of the existing 737, which in turn limited the additional training required for pilots.
In a controversial move, Boeing obtained FAA approval to exclude MCAS from the aircraft manual. Pilots were left in the dark about this critical system when the 737 MAX entered service in 2017.
Boeing's response to the Lion Air disaster was to lay blame on the pilots and instruct other 737 MAX operators on corrective actions in case of a nosedive. When pilots demanded more information, Boeing refused to elaborate. Company employees even went as far as concealing their suspicion that MCAS was behind the catastrophe from FAA investigators.
Despite mounting concerns, the FAA and Boeing refused to ground the 737 MAX, fearing financial loss and damage to their reputation. Tragically, less than five months later, another 737 MAX, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, crashed just six minutes after takeoff, claiming the lives of all 157 people on board.
Although Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg continued to assert that the 737 MAX was safe, the FAA promptly grounded the remaining 385 MAX aircraft after discovering similarities between the two crashes. The aircraft would remain grounded for two years.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the MCAS, installed at a misaligned 21-degree angle, had been activated in both crashes, causing the aircraft to enter an automatic nosedive. Described as "inadequate and almost criminally insufficient," the FAA privately estimated that the new MCAS could lead to one crash every six months.
In the aftermath of these government investigations, Boeing faced fraud conspiracy charges and was compelled to pay over 2.5 billion dollars in fines and compensation. The 737 Max has since returned to service with changes to the MCAS system and updates to pilot training.
