And DeFazio adds that “Boeing reportedly produced approximately 40 airplanes prior to the FAA’s approval of the design change.” He says this “suggests either willful neglect of the Federal aviation regulatory structure or an oversight system in need of desperate repair.”
Does this say what I think it does? Boeing produced 40 out-of-spec planes and then got approval for the design change? A manager would have to be either extremely incompetent or extremely sure of the outcome from the regulator to take that sort of risk.
You can google the sad tale of the fishing boat "America's Finest" (in Anacortes) to see the consequences of taking shortcuts like that when you are not an industry that owns the regulators.