01 / FLIGHT DECK REDESIGN
Redesigning safety-critical flight deck hardware under fleet-wide failure risk
A legacy switch design started failing across the fleet. I owned the investigation, the redesign, and the case for change — end to end.
02 / PROBLEM
A legacy switch was failing under real-world use, and the fleet-wide risk was mounting
The voice command equipment’s toggle switch was originally designed decades ago, before anyone could anticipate how frequently pilots would actually use it. As failures grew more common across the fleet, they created compounding risk: slower aircraft production due to part reliability and rework, reduced in-service aircraft availability from grounding, escalating maintenance costs, and a real risk of FAA noncompliance. The challenge: fix the failures without compromising pilot ergonomics or the physical constraints of the existing system.
As a Design and Systems Engineer on Boeing’s Flight Deck Electronics team, I own the design of the control panels pilots use to communicate with air traffic control, coordinate with each other, and manage aircraft systems throughout every flight. This is the story of one of those systems — the voice command switch — and the 42-week effort to root-cause a fleet-wide failure and deliver a validated fix.
ROLE
Owner, end to end
TEAM
Cross-functional × 5
TIMELINE
42 weeks
STATUS
Approved & implemented fleet-wide
42
Weeks, problem to approval
5
Stakeholder groups aligned
3
Design options evaluated before selection
1,000+
In-service aircraft receiving the redesign
03 / ROOT CAUSE
A supplier-partnered investigation ruled out every toggle-based fix
I led a root cause investigation with the supplier and worked directly with pilots and fleet teams to understand real-world use. The switch was being actuated far more often, and with more force, than it was ever tested for — and the supplier confirmed no toggle switch on the market could meet the required force, cycle count, and reliability within the existing equipment envelope. That ruled out patching the current design.
04 / SOLUTION
Three paths forward, and only one avoided a full cockpit redesign
I ran a design workshop with stakeholders across voice command systems, materials, electrical design, human factors, and reliability to align on requirements before evaluating options. Continued maintenance would mean major cost impacts over the life of the program. A larger, more robust toggle switch would require expanding the equipment envelope — triggering redesigns across materials, circuitry, and the glare shield, effectively a full cockpit redesign. The third option — deviating to a different switch type entirely — was the only path that avoided both. I sourced an off-the-shelf push-button switch and validated it through circuit analysis before formal testing: it drew less power than the legacy design, supported a higher cycle count, and introduced no long-term derating concerns.
05 / VALIDATION
Human factors and quality testing both had to clear the switch before it could ship
I partnered with the supplier on mockups and a functional prototype, then presented the concept at Technical Design Review to secure approval for formal testing. From there, the design had to clear two independent bars: human factors testing confirmed intuitive, repeatable operation with no added pilot workload and an acceptable transition from toggle to push-button; quality testing — environmental, electrical, and lifecycle — confirmed the switch held up under high cycle counts with no performance degradation. Both passed, and I consolidated the technical, human factors, and quality data into a final implementation package for leadership review.
06 / OUTCOME
Fleet-wide risk retired, and the fix is flying on Boeing’s newest aircraft
The redesign was approved for implementation across more than 1,000 in-service aircraft, and positioned for rollout on future aircraft programs, including the 777X family. In May 2026, Lufthansa’s first 777-9 — the 777X family’s launch aircraft — completed its first flight. It’s flying with the same flight deck control panels I design and own at Boeing: a live example of the hardware validation work this project set out to prove. By retiring the technical and operational risk early, we preserved production cadence and delivered a robust, fully validated solution — without a single compromise to pilot ergonomics.
07 / REFLECTION
The hardest part wasn’t the engineering — it was catching every risk early
Working cross-functionally meant every stakeholder was affected by any change I made, and comprehensively identifying risk while navigating multiple open issues at once was the real challenge. The lesson that stuck: doing the due diligence to surface risks early limits rework later — and balancing speed, quality, and risk is a constant judgment call, not a one-time decision.
Some technical specifics — supplier names, exact part specifications — are generalized to respect Boeing's proprietary information.