[sio8ohPi]

Number of groundings depends on the subjective judgement of FAA employees. It's not useful as an objective measure.

Christ, Boeing planes used to just spontaneously explode back in the 90s, and the only reason more people weren't killed was that two of the three had the good fortune to happen on the ground.

[sparrc]

Modern airplanes should be compared to what is possible in modern times with modern safety standards. If you want an objective measure then compare the Boeing Max planes to their Airbus equivalent: the A320neo.

The A320 neo has had zero fatalities. This is an objective measure that Boeing should be compared against.

AFAIK there have also been zero manufacturing defects at the scale of missing bolts on a door panel.