Is Boeing too big to fail?
Yes. And McDonnell-Douglas is too well connected to fail. Hence the quick merger when McD-D lost its position in the three way fighter bid. Boeing should have picked up only the pieces it wanted in the bankrpucy sale. But think of the shareholders!
But there's also the issue of the FAA's dual charter: Maintaining the safety of aviation and promoting it. I'll give the NTSB kudos for pushing for the actual answer to the battery problem. But in the final analysis, their role is only advisory. And the FAA chose to stop short of making the Big Battery Box an interim solution and demanding further investigation.
I'm not so worried about flying on a 787 modded with the BBBox. But allowing systems to be certified by an organization that says "We don't know how this works" bothers me. Would you get on a plane if the manufacturer didn't know what keeps them up in the air? [Not that far-fetched. I've lurked in PPRuNe threads about what causes lift.
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