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'Designed by clowns': Internal messages from Boeing employees released to public

Posted at 11:51 AM, Jan 10, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-10 13:51:34-05

A newly released batch of emails and text messages shows Boeing employees raising doubts among themselves about the safety of the 737 Max and talking about hiding problems from regulators.

The documents, which were turned during a Congressional investigation, came to light Thursday, nearly 10 months after the aircraft was grounded over two catastrophic crashes.

The names and titles of the employees who sent messages are redacted, but the letters paint a picture of the toxic culture inside Boeing throughout the 737 Max scandal.

"This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys," one message in April 2017 read, according to NBC News.

"I still haven't been forgiven by god for the covering up I did last year," another message read, according to NBC News.

The New York Times cites another message in which an employee said he wouldn't put his family members on the aircraft.

In a press release published Thursday, Boeing said it released the messages to various government agencies as a "commitment to transparency."

"These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable," Boeing's statement read. "That said, we remain confident in the regulatory process for qualifying these simulators."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.