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Despite major differences in aerodynamics, the 737 Max was sold to the airlines by Boeing as flying like the familiar 737. A sophisticated sensor and computer system was thought to assure such an experience for the flight crew. Remarkably, a safety package was made an expensive option -- one that cash-strapped Third World airlines rarely chose.

Early on, skilled American pilots who trained on the 737 Max recognized that its sensors and computer system could sometimes behave in a way that misled pilots and put the aircraft at risk. Good airmanship and quick reactions were then required to avoid disaster. Boeing never remedied the risk or explained it to pilots and customer airlines.

Starting about fifteen or twenty years ago, shop talk at a party among airline pilots I knew turned against Boeing as getting sloppy and outdated, with sometimes cheap and inferior build quality when compared to Airbus models. The pilots correctly anticipated that Boeing was going to have loads of trouble in building the 787.

Boeing has lost its way, looking to profit through marketing and financial strength instead of engineering quality. The 737 MAX is a fiasco. Blaming the pilots who died flying it will do little to remedy Boeing's problems.