Mertens, Robin Edgard Ulrik: Why Systems Fail Before They Fail: The Double Translation Trap in the Boeing 737 MAX

How can a system remain internally coherent while drifting away from its intended purpose? This paper examines the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX to show how institutional intent—flight safety—can be translated into an operational proxy that comes to guide both action and evaluation. As this proxy becomes decision-authoritative, contradictory evidence may no longer enter the decision process. The paper introduces the Double Translation Trap: a structural condition in which an operational pr