GlobalNav
Agree completely; the reform legislation while laudable I think will keep a negative spotlight focused on the MAX debacle and its underlying causes for a good long time. Just to cite one item of a concrete nature in support: both the House and Senate Committees issued quite hotly scathing investigation reports (both as noted up-thread). Careerist pressures being what they are, incentives exist for the negative spotlight to continue. And as legislative changes are moved into implementation or at least attempts are made to implement, again attention on the accidents and their underlying causes will persist. Apologies for ambiguity about impact of the legislation (especially because whether actual implementation will occur, and if it does how much it will matter, are pretty big what-ifs).
Certainly the ongoing courtroom action and pending, additional damning IG reports will not have any positive
PR impact.
Maybe, and it's mostly just speculative now, but maybe pilots who operate the 737 MAX in commercial service (and other flights for repositioning and so on), after a bunch of flights have been accumulated without anything out of the ordinary occurring, will get interviewed in the media and provide a bit of positive
PR. Maybe.