According to Professor Doug Drury, the Head of Aviation at Central Queensland University in Australia, yes. Though the recent spate of flight incidents related to Boeing aircraft earlier this year may be a cause for concern, Drury says we shouldn't ring too many alarms over them.
Although the quality assurance protocols at Boeing will need to be investigated and carefully checked, the recent incidents that have happened, according to Drury, are not all completely Boeing's fault.
In fact, the five incidents wherein an engine caught fire, a tire fell off after takeoff, a plane skidded over grass, and rudder pedal was stuck, were mostly maintenance issues which would land outside the scope of the manufacturer's control.
The Alaska Airlines flight in which the door accidentally got ripped from the plane was most likely the fault of Boeing's manufacturing and quality assurance protocols. However, it was apparently a subcontractor, Spirit AeroSystem, who did not install and bolt the door properly causing the accident mid-flight.
Still, that is not to absolve Boeing of all responsibility over these incidents. The FAA will monitor Boeing's processes closely which should bring its priority back to quality over profit, a paradigm that shifted when Airbus became a major competitor in the early 2000s.
Moreover, since many employees had been laid off during the pandemic, the company is currently training new blood who will be replacing those who were retrenched. And it's going to take time to train this new staff of engineers and maintenance personnel.
At the moment, Boeing is in the midst of correction and a transition period. So, as Professor Drury states, there is no need to panic over Boeing planes as we can hope to see changes effected. Of course, for one's own safety, people can still choose not to fly on Boeing planes, which will be a sign to the company that they need to reconsider their policies and priorities.
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