Preview
  • Flying Blind

  • The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing
  • By: Peter Robison
  • Narrated by: Feodor Chin
  • Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (494 ratings)

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Flying Blind

By: Peter Robison
Narrated by: Feodor Chin
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Publisher's summary

New York Times Business Best Seller • A suspenseful behind-the-scenes look at the dysfunction that contributed to one of the worst tragedies in modern aviation: the 2018 and 2019 crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX. An "authoritative, gripping and finely detailed narrative that charts the decline of one of the great American companies" (New York Times Book Review), from the award-winning reporter for Bloomberg.

Boeing is a century-old titan of industry. It played a major role in the early days of commercial flight, World War II bombing missions, and moon landings. The plane maker remains a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, as well as a linchpin in the awesome routine of modern air travel. But in 2018 and 2019, two crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 killed 346 people. The crashes exposed a shocking pattern of malfeasance, leading to the biggest crisis in the company’s history—and one of the costliest corporate scandals ever.

How did things go so horribly wrong at Boeing?

Flying Blind is the definitive exposé of the disasters that transfixed the world. Drawing from exclusive interviews with current and former employees of Boeing and the FAA; industry executives and analysts; and family members of the victims, it reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for catastrophe. It shows how in the race to beat the competition and reward top executives, Boeing skimped on testing, pressured employees to meet unrealistic deadlines, and convinced regulators to put planes into service without properly equipping them or their pilots for flight. It examines how the company, once a treasured American innovator, became obsessed with the bottom line, putting shareholders over customers, employees, and communities.

By Bloomberg investigative journalist Peter Robison, who covered Boeing as a beat reporter during the company’s fateful merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late ‘90s, this is the story of a business gone wildly off course. At once riveting and disturbing, it shows how an iconic company fell prey to a win-at-all-costs mentality, threatening an industry and endangering countless lives.

©2021 Peter Robison (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS BESTSELLER • WALL STREET JOURNAL BUSINESS BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, NEWSWEEK, THE NEW YORK POST • A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR • A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE • WINNER OF THE SABEW BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR • LONGLISTED FOR THE FT BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR

"A compelling, deeply reported account, written in crisp, controlled anger. It is an indictment not just of one of America’s most celebrated companies, but of an entire era: of politicians believing business knew best, of regulators bending to their will, and of shareholder returns elevated above any consideration for the rest of society, including consumers’ safety—and lives."Financial Times

"Powerful and unsettling... A page-turner...One can only hope that the next generation of corporate executives will read Robison’s book."—Washington Post

"A disturbing account that will return much-deserved scrutiny both to Boeing and to its regulator."Wall Street Journal