PRE-CRASH WARNINGS IGNORED: In June 2018, Pierson sent emails to Boeing senior vice president Scott Campbell warning that the 737 production line at Renton was in a state of chaos. Workers were exhausted from mandatory overtime, quality inspections were being rushed or skipped, and the factory was operating under extreme schedule pressure to meet delivery targets. He explicitly recommended shutting down the line. His warnings were dismissed.

CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY: Pierson testified before the House Transportation Committee during its investigation into the 737 MAX crashes. He provided detailed accounts of the production conditions he witnessed at Renton and the warnings he had raised to management. His testimony was cited in the Committee's 238-page final report as evidence of Boeing's systemic prioritization of production speed over safety.

LION AIR CONNECTION: Pierson has argued that the production conditions he warned about directly contributed to quality defects in the 737 MAX aircraft involved in the Lion Air crash. While MCAS was the primary cause, manufacturing quality issues, including improperly installed components and rushed inspections, compounded the systemic failures.

FOUNDATION FOR AVIATION SAFETY: After the crashes, Pierson founded the Foundation for Aviation Safety, a nonprofit dedicated to improving aviation safety standards, holding manufacturers accountable, and supporting whistleblowers in the aviation industry. He has continued to advocate for reforms to Boeing's production culture and the FAA's oversight framework.

CONTINUED ADVOCACY: Following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug blowout in January 2024, Pierson publicly reiterated his warnings about Boeing's production culture, noting that the same systemic problems he identified in 2018, schedule pressure, quality shortcuts, and management indifference, remained unresolved six years later.