1. Study the given case carefully and answer the questions asked at the end.(as soon as possible please)within 1 hour.

737 MAX Crisis: Can Boeing Bounce Back?

On September 26, 2019 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)1 in its report on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft raised a big question about the design approval process of Boeing and the certification process of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)2. NTSB had conducted a month-long investigation on the possible lapses in the design and approval of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, following two aircraft crashes one of Lion Air and another of Ethiopian Airlines that killed 346 people on board, both involving Boeing 737 MAX aircrafts. NTSB reported that Boeing had wrongly analyzed the failure risk associated with the newly implemented automated software Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) on the aircraft. The report stated that Boeing did not describe the functioning of this automated software either in airplane manuals or during the training programs given to the pilots. The first fatal accident of Lion Air prompted Boeing to report openly about the functioning of MCAS. The NTSB also recommended a revamp of FAAs certification process to assess the risks associated with key systems of aircraft more stringently. The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) was constituted by the FAA during April 2019 to investigate its own approval process of MCAS system and a possible oversight during same. JATR also echoed the recommendation of NTSB i.e., the revamping of FAAs certification process, as one of its major recommendations in the report submitted to FAA on October 11, 2019. According the results declared on January 29, 2020, Boeing announced its first annual loss since 1997 attributed to the 737 Max crisis. Boeing had put the total cost of 737 MAX crisis at $18.6 billion as on the day it announced results. Boeing feared that the total cost would mount further as it did not include probable settlements against lawsuits from more than 100 victims families from both the crashes. The amount also excluded the fine that would follow the U.S. criminal investigation into lapses related to the 737 MAX plane. Along with these costs and financial losses which were tangible, the intangible damage due to the adverse impact on the brand value of Boeing in the world market may prove to be much more severe and irreversible. The case explores the various reasons behind the issues related to 737

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MAX aircraft. Further the case elaborates the effect of poor quality on Boeing. The case is intended for use in courses on Quality Management, Operations Management, and Management of Aerospace Companies. Background The Boeing 737 was initially developed for short-range travel with the 737-100 aircraft which made its first flight in April 1967 and entered service in February 1968 with Lufthansa. After a few months in April 1968, the extended version, the 737- 200, entered service. To capture the aircraft market further, Boeing launched a few more versions during the 1980s the 737-300, -400, and -500 variants featuring updated CFM56 turbofan engines and wing improvements for improved range. During the 1990s, Boeing continued its success by introducing the Boeing 737 NG, which had a larger wingspan and a redesigned cockpit with updated interiors.. After the crash of the Lion Airline aircraft, Boeing expressed regret for the loss of life but did not elaborate on a possible link with the mistake in the design of the aircraft. But the report released by the investigation committee constituted by Lion Air pinpointed the MCAS system and its dependency on a single malfunctioning sensor as the main reason for the crash.. Boeing had a challenging task ahead. It had to bring back the 737 MAX into operation quickly to avoid mounting losses. In addition, it had to convince it's customers about the safety of the aircraft as well as the companys systems and processes. A more challenging task was rebuilding its reputation among the stakeholders. Boeing wanted to press the 737 MAX into service at the earliest to compete with the Airbus SE. But it encountered unexpected delays while finalizing the positioning of engines, which in turn, led to issues with the aircrafts flight control systems. To reduce the time required for the 737 MAX to enter service, Boeing took a few shortcuts which were legal as per the type certification process of FAA. Questions: A. Find out appropriate methodology of root cause analysis for this case. [6] B. Mention the improved processes and systems to prevent a repetition of the issues faced by Boeing. [7] C. Create a roadmap for Boeing to improve the quality assurance and win back the trust of customers. [7]