US Transportation Department probes FAA approval of Boeing’s 737 MAX as anti-stall system comes under scrutiny
- Inquiry comes amid investigations into two fatal crashes involving the Boeing jet
- Seattle Times report said the FAA delegated part of the certification process for the plane to Boeing engineers
Employees of the US Federal Aviation Administration warned as early as seven years ago that Boeing had too much sway over safety approvals of new aircraft.
That prompted an investigation by US Department of Transportation auditors who confirmed the agency hadn’t done enough to “hold Boeing accountable”.
The 2012 investigation also found that discord over Boeing’s treatment had created a “negative work environment” among FAA employees who approve new and modified aircraft designs, with many of them saying they’d faced retaliation for speaking up. Their concerns predated the 737 MAX development.
On Sunday, a person familiar with the 737 MAX said the Transportation Department’s Inspector General was examining the plane’s design certification before the second of two deadly crashes of the almost brand-new aircraft.
Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg and FAA officials on Sunday were forced to defend the quality testing of the new aircraft after a Seattle Times investigation found that the US regulator delegated much of the safety assessment to Boeing and that the planemaker in turn delivered an analysis with crucial flaws.