2024 has been nothing short of a PR nightmare for the Boeing Company.
Already beginning the year with a series of public mishaps on their planes that have led to injuries and even death for the innocent passengers, things have not gotten any better as summertime creeps up on the calendar.
Two different whistleblowers have died before they could testify in court, they are being scrutinized by federal agencies, and have been found deficient in documenting routine fixes and maintenance.
And now, as reported in the U.K.'s Daily Mail, the Federal Aviation Administration has found electrical flaws in almost 300 Boeing aircrafts that could potentially lead to fires or explosions.
This potential flaw has been revealed in part thanks to new regulations proposed by the FAA back in March.
These regulations, or "new airworthiness directive," were prompted by a deficiency found in the Boeing 777 jets, that a panel for the "nitrogen enriched air system" near the fuel tank was installed without the proper electrical board.
Granted, according to a story in The Independent, Boeing has denied that this potential flaw was an immediate issue, with a spokesperson claiming that the original Daily Mail article was "misleading and reckless."
Indeed, Boeing declared: "This is not an immediate safety of flight issue. There are multiple redundancies designed into modern commercial airplanes to ensure protection for electromagnetic effects. The 777 fleet has been operating for nearly 30 years, and has safely flown more than 3.9 billion passengers."
Likewise, the FAA has also stressed to The Independent that it "bases its airworthiness directive timelines on the risk involved. If the agency determines something is an urgent issue, it requires immediate action."
That said, these statements, based on Boeing's major disasters over the course of 2024, are not likely to assuage the fears of potential customers.
Despite the coincidental, sudden deaths of two different whistleblowers, both were still able to inform the public of appalling practices in the company's manufacturing plants before their untimely passing.
(And yes, the deaths certainly look more than a little suspicious.)
Moreover, Boeing has been the subject of federal investigation by the Justice Department, and is now possibly facing criminal charges for violating the terms of an agreement with the DOJ in 2021 which, according to CNN, delayed prosecution for the company for two fatal crashes that year.
Again, these new regulations were prompted solely by possible, rather than actual, problems with the aircraft.
But, the fact remains that Boeing aircraft have been plagued with sometimes fatal issues regarding the safety and construction of their aircraft for a long time now.
Indeed, the decline of the Boeing company has been as sad as it has been shocking to witness.
This once proud American company that used to be synonymous with quality now has such a reputation for danger and risk.
The fact that a wild report about Boeing planes being at-risk for exploding in mid-air was so imminently believable should speak volumes.
And that, after the injuries and death caused by their shoddy quality control processes, might be one of the worst consequences of Boeing's PR debacle.
Even if they whipped the company back into shape overnight, it would take a long time, probably untold years, to win back the trust of the public.
Like Mr. Darcy, the public's good opinion of a company, once lost, is often lost forever.
And unless they clean house quickly, it might be too late for Boeing at this point.
