How Boeing's Flawed 737 Max Made It Into the Air

What did Boeing know about the potential for disaster with its 737 Max passenger jet, and when did the company know it? Tom Jennings, director of the FRONTLINE/New York Times documentary “Boeing’s Fatal Flaw,” and Times reporter David Gelles detail what their findings reveal about the lead-up to the two 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. 

In conversation with FRONTLINE Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath, Jennings and Gelles discuss what they learned about the technical issues with Boeing’s fastest-selling commercial jet, as well as how market pressures, corporate culture and failed regulatory oversight ushered a plane with a fatal design flaw into commercial service. Jennings and Gelles also discuss what’s changed since the crashes — and how they’d each feel about walking onto a Boeing plane now.

The documentary “Boeing’s Fatal Flaw” is now streaming on FRONTLINE’s website, the PBS Video app and FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.