The two recent plane crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia had unspeakable human consequences. All inmates died, a total of 346 people from 35 countries: UN officials, judges, academics, an archaeologist, an ex-cyclist. Careers were erased, life plans destroyed, families ripped apart.
The US aviation company Boeing calculates the cost of the disasters, both of which hit its current bestselling jet Boeing 737 Max, something different - in cold dollars.
How high this financial fallout will be, indicated first on Wednesday, as Boeing presented his latest balance sheet figures. At least one billion dollars will lose the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, because the 737 Max remains until the clarification of the causes of accidents on the ground and the production of new machines had to be throttled. The revenue for the first quarter of 2019 alone fell by more than half a billion dollars (two percent) to almost 23 billion dollars.
According to observers, Boeing could lose its global market leadership to its archrival at the end of the year - the European Airbus consortium.
Only in July, the Boeing jets could go back into operation
Boeing boss Dennis Muilenburg tried on Wednesday to humility, but at the same time tried, these first results since the accidents with professional optimism to beautiful. "We are all deeply affected," he said in an interview with analysts. "We very much regret the impact." Nothing is more important to Boeing than the safety of the crew and passengers. He has however "highest confidence" that the problem with the 737 Max will be solved and the machine will fly again.
First results of investigations make the new control software MCAS, which was installed in both concerned Boeing 737, responsible for the crashes. It has since been tested, revised and will soon be re-certified. According to reports from group circles, it could take until July before the nearly 400 affected Boeing jets, which are forcibly parked worldwide, can go back into operation.
Muilenburg reported that test pilots had already completed more than 135 flights with the modified software. He participated in two of his own. "We are making steady progress." Also, almost 90 percent of all captains who fly these machines have been re-trained by flight simulators. Boeing has called a panel of examiners to review all internal procedures.
Nevertheless, the scandal is for the time being based on trust - and on the balance sheets. Boeing had to cancel its original annual targets for 2019 because of the crisis completely and wants to give a new look only "at a later date".
A complete redesign is not planned for Boeing
Only the good military and service business was able to cushion even higher losses. In addition, the flight and passenger traffic is booming, which is why Boeing hopes to overcome the crisis soon - although recently also renewed doubts about another, also panic-stricken Boeing success model emerged, the Dreamliner. "The basics remain unchanged," said Muilenburg. "We remain very confident about the industry outlook."
However, a complete redesign of the Boeing jets refused Muilenburg. "We trust this software," he said about MCAS. The controversial system that allows pilots to take control of the aircraft has been incorporated into the old, existing 737 design for cost and time reasons, which in turn is based on principled designs from the 1960s.
Some analysts shared Muilenburg's optimism. "These quarterly figures paint the picture of a company with strong fundamental demand, for which there is no danger of a liquidity or financial crisis," the research firm CFRA subsequently wrote. Others were skeptical. "How could something slip through?" Asked an expert from the investment bank Merrill Lynch Muilenburg at the conference call. "How could that happen?"
Muilenburg had no answer.