U.S. Department of Transportation probes FAA approval of 737 MAX: WSJ

[Mr. Sparkle]

Source: Reuters.com

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jets, the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday, citing people familiar with the inquiry. The investigation by the department's inspector general was launched after a Lion Air crash in October killed 189 people, the newspaper said on.wsj.com/2Hrzvlq, months before the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane killed 157.

Both planes were MAX 8s, and both crashed minutes post take-off after pilots reported flight control problems. The inquiry focuses on whether the FAA used appropriate design standards and engineering analyses in certifying the aircraft’s anti-stall system known as MCAS, the WSJ said.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment. Two government officials briefed on the matter told Reuters it would not be surprising for the Transportation Department to investigate a major safety issue but could not immediately confirm the report.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane/u-s-transportation-dept-probes-faa-approval-of-737-max-wsj-idUSKCN1QY0V9

[Turbineguy]

1. Probably looking to blame Obama.

[OnlinePoker]

2. According to Wiki, it never got certification until March 2017

I wouldn't put it past Trump to have pressured the FAA on behalf of Boeing for the approval.

[PuppyBismark]

3. Yes, this needs to be investigated, see

Here is a good article about the 737 MAX 8/9 design flaw from the Seattle Times. It describes the issues very well.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/

[burrowowl]

12. Thanks for link

It is a whole new plane, Boeing and the FAA failed their duty!

[lostnfound]

13. Omg. Depressing. That's so much worse than I thought

Thanks for posting

[lostnfound]

14. I can see at least five alarm bells in this article. It's damning.

A. A 20 degree disagree on the ground, given the existence of this system, ought to trigger a no-go before takeoff in the flight manuals. (Maybe it does and it was ignored in the Lion Air crash — but safe operation is the responsibility of both Boeing and the airlines. “Aircraft readiness programs” and aircraft familiarization programs with each new fleet are supposed to highlight critical differences to other fleets.)

B. “Boeing has pointed out that the pilots flying the same plane on the day before the crash experienced similar behavior to Flight 610 and did exactly that: They threw the stabilizer cutoff switches, regained control and continued with the rest of the flight.“ Great. So the best defense is, 2 out of 3 pilots at some airlines know how to fly this plane? ...are able to stop the uncommanded dive into the ground?

C. Single point of failure for the AOA sensor.

D. Magnitude of pitch adjustment is 4 times as high as the initial assessment.

E. MCAS, a new system with major flight safety implications (and especially with the magnitude issue mentioned in D above), was delegated out to Boeing. Despite my serious admiration for Boeing, this is not the FAA criteria that I was used to when I was involved in minor certifications in the early 1990s.

How sad.

[Dave Starsky]

4. Relax, people. Elaine Chao of the DOT is on this.

AKA, Mrs. Senator Mitch McConnell.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Remember the Boening

CEO met Trump early on in 2017. Interesting is it not. Oh btw,he gave 1 million to the Trump Inaugural,interesting is it not.

[dalton99a]

7. Yep

[Wellstone ruled]

11. Congressman Cumminings will

burn Trump to the Ground . He will get those Trump Tower Documents,not today but the Courts will get them for him by this time next year.

[PSPS]

6. LOL. Sure. All federal agencies are now run by the russian mob.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. This may well need a Congressional investigation.

Too much Boeing money pulling too many strings with Trump's gang of thieves, IMO.

Boeing needs to come clean with the public ASAP....

[Historic NY]

9. Follow the money, Boeings money...

[matt819]

10. How can we possibly believe the results of any agency investigation, into anything?

The college admission scandal was a surprise, though the coverage has not been. Focus on two actresses and leave the CEOs alone.

But when I see any government agency investigating anything - election fraud, the FAA approval, any environmental issue, anything - I just can't believe the results, whatever they may be. And they will almost always be in opposition to the public interest.

[Maxheader]

16. Regulatory agencies are important...like nuke regulatory agencies

that are trying to cut back on power house inspections..There is a reason behind
having an unbiased authority to protect people..The yellow haired traitor is
playing with fire when it throws out the need for this..

[Papyro]

15. What could go wrong