Re: Got nothing to do with self-regulation..
The counterpoint to this is that the 737NG predated McD being on the scene and THAT airplane should never have been produced either (It was produced by accountants/management, demanded by customers and then the engineers told to make it work)
The bodging and covering up of dangerously substandard fuselage ribs on 737NG production lines also predated the arrival of McD on the scene
There's confirmation bias in the assertion. The truth is that Boeing was already substantially along the road that the import of McD manglement took and if it hadn't been, they wouldn't have been able to drive the company to the extremes that happened
Boeing's woes trace to the introduction of the 747. Massive restructuring of debts in the late 60s resulted in banks and financiers being in charge by 1971. After that the safety/engineering culture was steadily eroded and with or without McD along for the ride something similar would have eventually happened sooner or later (perhaps later, perhaps sooner. it's an unknown) - facilitated by the widespread regulatory capture environment in the USA (not just the FAA - the FTC and PUCs are shining examples of it still in action today)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
