Report blasts Boeing, FAA, seeks reforms
House committee questions whether airline and regulators have recognized problems that caused deadly 737 Max crashes.
A House committee WASHINGTON — issued a scathing report Wednesday questioningwhether Boeing and government regulators have recognized problems that caused two deadly 737 Max jet crashes and whether either will bewilling to make significant changes to fix them.
Staff members fromthe Democratic-controlled Transportation Committee blamed the crashes that killed 346 people onthe “horrific culmination” of failed government oversight, design flaws and a lack of action at Boeing despite knowing about problems.
The committee identified deficiencies in the Federal Aviation Administration approval process for new jetliners. But the agency and Boeing have said certification of theMax complied withFAAregulations, the 246-page report said.
“The fact that a compliant airplane suffered from two deadly crashes in less than five months is clear evidence that the current regulatory system is fundamentally flawed and needs to be repaired,” the staff wrote in the report released earlyWednesday.
The report highlights the need for legislation to fix the approval process and deal with the FAA’s delegation ofsomeoversight tasks to aircraft manufacturer employees, said Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon.
“Obviously the system is inadequate,” DeFazio said. “We will be adopting significant reforms.”
He wouldn’t give details, saying committee leaders are in talks with Republicans about legislation. He said the committeewon’t scrapthe delegation program, and
he hopes to reach agreement on reforms before year’s end.
ASenatecommitteeonWednesdaycouldmakechanges toa bipartisan bill giving the FAA more control over picking company employeeswho sign off on safety decisions.
The House report stems from an 18-month investigation into the October 2018 crash of Lion Air flight 610 in Indonesia and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in March of 2019. The Max was grounded worldwide shortly after the Ethiopia crash. Regulators are testing planes with revampedflight control software, and Boeing hopes to get the Max flying again late this year or early in 2021.
Relatives of peoplewho died in thecrashes saidthereportexposes the truth.
“It was an unforgivable crime, and Boeing still wants to return the aircraft to service quickly,”
saidAbabuAmha, whose wifewas a flight attendant on the Ethiopia Airlines jet. “All those responsible for the accident should pay the price for their actions.”
Paul Njoroge of Toronto, whose wife, three young children and mother-in-lawdied in the Ethiopia crash while traveling to Kenya to see grandparents, said the report revealed Boeing’s culture of putting profit ahead of safety.
“There are instances in the report where some employees within Boeing tried to raise safety concern issues. But their concernswould be slammed by people within Boeing,” said Njoroge, who is among those suing the company. “This is an organization that should focus more on delivering safe planes.”