Boeing and FAA face tough questions on approval process
After crashes of Boeing’s 737 Max model have grounded the plane globally, safety experts are asking how the plane was developed and tested—and calling out poor practices.
The 737 Max hasn’t just dinged Boeing’s reputation.
The entire U.S. has seen increased scrutiny on how planes are tested, reviewed by government agencies and grounded when found to be unsafe. The FAA has been forced to defend its review practices as agencies and nations worldwide have grounded the 737 Max.
Particularly damning, a report from the Seattle Times says both the FAA and Boeing were informed of safety flaws with the aircraft 11 days ago, before the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
Current and former engineers directly involved with the evaluations or familiar with the document shared details of Boeing’s “System Safety Analysis” of MCAS, which The Seattle Times confirmed.
The safety analysis:
The people who spoke to The Seattle Times and shared details of the safety analysis all spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their jobs at the FAA and other aviation organizations.
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