777x test flights’ suspension actually a good thing

The Herald’s Aug. 21 article on the suspension of Boeing 777x test flight made it sound like yet another of Boeing’s failures. Far from it!

As a retired chemist and engineer who has spent a career working in, later directing, laboratories, I think I am qualified to spot a success story when I see one.

Laboratories and testing exist to find anomalies, something that is not right, something not strong enough, something that perhaps should not be there. Boeing’s 777x test flight program achieved that very target: it found a weak spot in the system, thus is now in a good position to produce and install a part capable of handling the required load put upon it. Rather than criticizing, Boeing should be commended for the thoroughness of its testing.

Frank Baumann

Mill Creek