Boeing has released hundreds of internal messages that contained harshly critical comments about the development of the 737 MAX, including one that said the plane was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys".
Francis Maguire reports.
'Designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys'.
Just one of the damning comments made by Boeing employees about the development of the 737 MAX.
Boeing released hundreds of internal messages on Thursday.
They showed employees also ridiculed the airline and regulators the Federal Aviation Administration.
The 737 MAX was grounded last March after an Ethiopian Airlines flight nose-dived, just five months after a similar Lion Air crash.
The disasters killed 346 people.
In an instant message from early 2018 an employee asked: 'Would you put your family on a MAX simiulator-trained aircraft?
I wouldn't.'
The second employee simply replied 'no'.
When these message were sent the plane was in the air, and the Lion Air crash happened eight months later.
Other messages revealed efforts by Boeing to avoid making the expensive process of pilot simulator training a requirement for the MAX.
Just this week Boeing changed tack and said it would recommend simulator training for pilots before they resume flying the MAX.
The messages also reveal a cost-cutting culture and disrespect towards the FAA.
It looks set to deepen the crisis at Boeing as the U.S. aviation giant struggles to get its best-selling plane back in the air and restore public confidence.
Boeing said the communications 'do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable'.
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