Boeing MAX crashes 'horrific' result of lapses by company, regulator
Source: AFP Published: 2020/9/17 17:53:40
US Congressional investigators blamed two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes on "repeated and serious failures" by the company and air safety officials, according to a report released Wednesday that called for an overhaul of the US aviation regulatory system.
"The MAX crashes were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake or mismanaged event," said the report, which blasted both Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. "They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing's engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing's management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA."
The 239-page report released by congressional Democrats is the culmination of an 18-month probe by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee into crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes that together claimed 346 lives.
The latest in a series of withering reviews of the crashes, the document adds to scrutiny of both Boeing and the FAA as the agency manages the process of requiring upgrades to the plane before it is cleared to fly again. The MAX has been grounded since March 2019.
It is "clear that at Boeing, safety comes after cost-cutting, profit maximization and share price pumpage," said Paul Njoroge, who lost his entire family on the Ethiopian Airlines crash. "The ungrounding process of the 737 MAX planes should be halted until the FAA recaptures its authority over Boeing."
The report flagged numerous failings, including pressure within Boeing to rush the MAX out in order to compete with an Airbus plane, a "culture of concealment" in which the plane maker withheld key information from regulators, and undue influence by the company on FAA higher-ups, which marred oversight.
The Chicago-based company also concealed crucial information about the system.
Newspaper headline: Boeing MAX crashes 'horrific' result from company, regulator
A Boeing 737 MAX jet lands following Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington on June 29. Photo: VCG
"The MAX crashes were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake or mismanaged event," said the report, which blasted both Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. "They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing's engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing's management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA."
The 239-page report released by congressional Democrats is the culmination of an 18-month probe by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee into crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes that together claimed 346 lives.
The latest in a series of withering reviews of the crashes, the document adds to scrutiny of both Boeing and the FAA as the agency manages the process of requiring upgrades to the plane before it is cleared to fly again. The MAX has been grounded since March 2019.
It is "clear that at Boeing, safety comes after cost-cutting, profit maximization and share price pumpage," said Paul Njoroge, who lost his entire family on the Ethiopian Airlines crash. "The ungrounding process of the 737 MAX planes should be halted until the FAA recaptures its authority over Boeing."
The report flagged numerous failings, including pressure within Boeing to rush the MAX out in order to compete with an Airbus plane, a "culture of concealment" in which the plane maker withheld key information from regulators, and undue influence by the company on FAA higher-ups, which marred oversight.
The Chicago-based company also concealed crucial information about the system.
Newspaper headline: Boeing MAX crashes 'horrific' result from company, regulator
Posted in: AMERICAS