Boeing 737: How world's most successful airplane became its most troubled

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(CNN) — Over the course of its long history, the Boeing 737 has acquired more nicknames than any other commercial aircraft.

Among them are Baby Boeing, Tin Mouse, Light Twin, Guppy, Bobby, Rudder Rotor, as well as a few less flattering ones, such as Fat Freddy and Dung Beetle.

But none of these is as notorious as Max, the name Boeing has given to the 737's latest incarnation -- now synonymous with disaster, as well as one of the worst corporate blunders of all time.

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"In my view, the Max was a series of modifications too far. They should have never come out with it in the first place. They should have sat down with a blank computer screen to design an entirely new aircraft," says Simons. According to internal documents released in early 2020, one Boeing employee described the airplane as "designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys."

Already on its knees from the pandemic, the aviation industry still awaits the final verdict on the 737 Max saga. ..............(more)

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/boeing-737-story-behind-the-troubled-aircraft/index.html