FAA chief defends handling of safety OK

The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that Boeing should have done more to explain an automated flight-control system on its 737 Max aircraft before two deadly crashes, but he defended his agency’s safety certification of the plane and its decision not to ground the jet until other regulators around the world had already done so.

The FAA official, Daniel Elwell, said he expects Boeing to submit a fix to the plane’s flight-control software “in the next week or so.” The FAA will analyze the changes, conduct test flights and determine what additional pilot training is needed before letting the planes fly again, he said.

“In the U.S., the 737 Max will return to service only when the FAA’s analysis of the facts and technical data indicate that it is safe to do so,” he told members of the House aviation subcommittee.