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There is no small complexity in the task of carrying hundreds of people through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour. More than 100,000 airliners take off and land each day, but two deadly air crashes in six months have shocked passengers, regulators, and industry alike.
Crashes of Boeing’s 737 Max in Indonesia and Ethiopia offer a window into all that complexity. Boeing and its CEO Dennis Muilenburg want the story to be simple: a software problem that can be fixed with a quick patch. But that doesn’t capture the mistakes made by Boeing and American aviation regulators in certifying the plane to carry passengers.
By now, you may well have heard of MCAS, software that automatically pitches 737 Maxes downward to avoid stalling in mid-air. It exists only because Boeing wanted to upgrade its 737 without changing it fundamentally—so it added new engines that made the aircraft more likely to stall, rather than starting from scratch. In the emerging picture of the two accidents, the software failed because the mechanical sensor it depended on also malfunctioned.
But all that pales next to what will likely be the highlight of investigations into the incident: the training and user experience of the people in the cockpits. Pilots did not have sufficient training to understand how MCAS worked, and two vital safety features—a display showing what the sensor detected, and a light warning if other sensors disagreed—were optional extras (paywall).
Minimizing training and cockpit changes was an economic decision: The upgraded plane would be more attractive to potential purchasers if they did not have to spend expensive hours retraining their pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration determined Boeing’s training and safety plans were fine. Now, investigators want to know why. The answers could be costly for Boeing, and for America’s reputation as a leader in the safe deployment of aviation technology.
Software is easy to blame, because for many people, computer science is a mystery. But these crashes emerged from an experience we’re all familiar with: the pressure to deliver on a tight timetable, the temptation to cut corners, and the hope that in a big, complex world, one little kludge won’t mess up the whole program. —Tim Fernholz
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The Islamophobic corners of China’s internet. The mosque shootings in New Zealand provoked outrage around the world, but there was support for the gunman on some parts of China’s internet, which has seen a rise in Islamophobia. One popular post laid blame on Christchurch officials for allowing the construction of mosques. Isabella Steger and Echo Huang provide the backdrop for such hostility, including the government’s intensifying crackdown on the country’s 23 million Muslims.
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In defense of Silicon Valley’s most misunderstood growth strategy. Last month, Tim O’Reilly published a critique of Blitzscaling, a book on how would-be unicorns can “achieve massive scale at incredible speed.” This week the book’s authors, LinkedIn and Paypal co-founder Reid Hoffman and serial entrepreneur Chris Yeh, rebut his argument. As pioneers of Silicon Valley’s move-fast culture, the authors outline how startups can—and should—grow their businesses quickly, not recklessly.
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The unsettling world of Shen Yun. Relentless advertising prompts many Americans to attend performances by the Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe, featuring elaborate choreography, animated backdrops, and dozens of dancers. What they pay good money to watch, writes Jia Tolentino for the New Yorker (paywall), is essentially religious-political propaganda. Behind the troupe is Falun Dafa, which the Chinese government warns is a cult. Whatever you call it, the organization is stranger than most ticket buyers realize.
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Climate change could save the US nuclear industry. Various countries and US states plan to decarbonize their energy sectors. But investing heavily in renewables like solar and wind might not be enough, and many experts believe more nuclear power needs to be in the mix. As Kate Wheeling writes for Pacific Standard, that could translate into a boost for America’s beleaguered nuclear industry—and its dwindling influence on how nuclear technology is used.
The fertility doctor’s secret. Last summer, a family-reunion picnic in Indiana looked like any other. But the adults in the group did not know of each other early in life, writes Sarah Zhang in the Atlantic. They came to learn they were all biologically related because of DNA testing and the unraveling of a fertility doctor’s secret: that he had used his own sperm when helping at least 50 women with artificial insemination.
The rich have consultants to help them with prison life. Ever since the college admissions scandal broke, Justin Paperny’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing. A co-founder of White Collar Advice, Paperny is a federal prison consultant who prepares people—at least the ones who can afford his fees—for life behind bars. For the Washington Post, Peter Holley describes a gig (paywall) that is part fixer, part adviser, and part therapist. Paperny himself is a convicted felon.
Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, DNA test revelations, and postcards from Yoshino to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Weekend Brief was edited by Steve Mollman and Holly Ojalvo.