For Anons not following the Boeing 737Max story, here is the synopsis:

To compete with longer routes and other players in the aviation business, Boeing needed to upgrade to a larger more efficient turbofan on the 737. That engine would not fit under the wing, however, as the 737 airframe was designed long ago for smaller engines. Basically, the landing gear were not tall enough, and redesigning them was not part of the budget.

Instead, Boeing mounted the engines further forward, in front of the wing, thus changing the CG and thrust moment of the plane. Since it was now prone to erratic behavior underling varying thrust conditions, they patched this inherent stability problem with flight control software. This software is dependent on notoriously unreliable sensors, so Boeing added redundant sensors – as an upgrade option for extra cost. There are different stories about whether the pilots were even made aware of the issues, but the prevailing theory I've heard is Boeing didn't want to raise too many eyebrows by adding new steps to the manual. The result was that in certain conditions the flight control software was telling the plane to pitch up, when the pilot was telling it to pitch down. Literally, the plane itself fighting the pilot. There was a pilot training effort as well to teach pilots how to respond if x and y conditions occurred. How well that was communicated, and how many pilots took the training we may never know.

So. An inherently unstable plane, using a software upgrade to correct the control surfaces to feel 'normal' to pilots who had already had a lot of hours on the 737. Wonky sensors, and an airline carrier who did not want to spend extra for the redundant ones. Pilots who may not have known any of this, being caught by surprise in a tense situation. Flight manual minor changes to not draw attention to the risk. Incident reports being kept quiet. What could possibly be the motive to all these things? Its usually money. "A business decision" is what was no doubt discussed and agreed.

Anyway that's what I have been able to glean from reading the various articles on the subject. I'm just an interested Anon, former Air Force jet mech, and I won't be flying on any 737Max. Ever.

The upshot of all this, which has me very interested, is to see what Trump will do. Boeing is in some serious deep shit. And I'm sure Trump would like more cooperation on some of the military hardware they produce. He obviously has a lot of sway over federal agencies, and any kind of deal being brokered with other countries that are in the national interest. My guess is, he may be Boeing's hero in exchange for certain concessions.