FAA Preserves Boeing’s Big Role in Certifying Its Own Planes

FAA Response to 737 MAX Crash Report Preserves Boeing’s Big Role In Certifying Its Own Planes (excerpt)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday said it plans changes to how new airplane models are certified, but will preserve Boeing’s central role in that process — despite criticism that Boeing mistakes in certifying the 737 MAX allowed design flaws that killed 346 people in two crashes.

In a report released Tuesday, the FAA responded to recommendations made in January by an advisory committee set up by U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who oversees the FAA.

In a statement, the FAA said those recommendations confirmed that its existing safety protocols are “sound,” though there are “areas where we have opportunities to improve.”

Drawing on the lessons taken from the MAX crashes, the agency said, it will give more scrutiny to potential pilot errors associated with the increased automation of airliner flight controls. And it will try to ensure a more complete review of how the multiple systems in a jet may interact to provide a broader review of safety risks.

The January report, which unlike other investigations into the MAX crashes explicitly vindicated the FAA’s current procedures, was received skeptically at the time, and the FAA’s response Tuesday was likewise greeted with caution. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Seattle Times website.

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