The Boeing 737 MAX: Lessons for Engineering Ethics

Abstract

The crash of two 737 MAX passenger aircraft in late 2018 and early 2019, and subsequent grounding of the entire fleet of 737 MAX jets, turned a global spotlight on Boeing’s practices and culture. Explanations for the crashes include: design flaws within the MAX’s new flight control software system designed to prevent stalls; internal pressure to keep pace with Boeing’s chief competitor, Airbus; Boeing’s lack of transparency about the new software; and the lack of adequate monitoring of Boeing by the FAA, especially during the certification of the MAX and following the first crash. While these and other factors have been the subject of numerous government reports and investigative journalism articles, little to date has been written on the ethical significance of the accidents, in particular the ethical responsibilities of the engineers at Boeing and the FAA involved in designing and certifying the MAX. Lessons learned from this case include the need to strengthen the voice of engineers within large organizations. There is also the need for greater involvement of professional engineering societies in ethics-related activities and for broader focus on moral courage in engineering ethics education.

Four Opportunities for SE Ethics Education

“…Are software designers and architects responsible for their designs for the lifetime of the system, or is that the responsibility of the software maintainers? Who should be responsible for adding higher levels of scrutiny when a previously non-safety critical system evolves into a safety critical system (as in [21])? Who is responsible for the unknown ethical impacts of algorithms [22]?…”

“…Since software engineers straddle this separation, computing codes and accreditation can be strengthened to be more comparable. We call on professional societies to play a stronger role in fostering moral courage and enforcing codes of ethics (building on the call in [21]).…”

Opportunities and Challenges for Artificial Intelligence Applications in Infrastructure Management During the Anthropocene

“…This can unfortunately be seen in the tragic Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 incidents. Although many factors appeared to have been at play, the disconnect between the development of the automated flight control systems in the Boeing 737-MAX planes and the training and implementation by the pilots was a key element in the accidents (Gelles, 2019;Wise, 2019;Herkert et al, 2020; U.S. House Committee on Transportation Infrastructure., 2020). Thus, determining how to effectively integrate human and machine cognition into infrastructure systems becomes a significant professional challenge that, so far, appears to have not been adequately and effectively considered.…”

When Ethics is a Technical Matter: Engineers’ Strategic Appeal to Ethical Considerations in Advocating for System Integrity

“…The Ford Pinto case is frequently taken as an landmark narrative of corporate amorality, where the car went into production despite the known potential of killing occupants in the event of a collision (Birsch, 1994). More recently, the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft continued to be rolled out to airlines despite knowledge of significant design flaws (Herkert et al, 2020).…”