In light of two fatal crashes that occurred in Ethiopia and Indonesia respectively, Boeing
"There are a whole host of questions about the certification of the plane," said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio. "The more I learn, the more concerned I become."
Boeing and its lobbyists fought hard and long to ensure the company receives fast-tracked approval of important plane certifications. This has resulted in calls from Congress for the Federal Aviation Administration to more closely scrutinize its safety procedures. The Department of Transportation has also opened an inquiry into the FAA's approval process.
The current controversy stems from Boeing's approval of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which has been one of the main points of investigation for the Ethiopia and Lion Air jet crashes respectively. The MCAS forces the nose of the plane downwards to prevent it from stalling above clouds.
"There was constant pressure to re-evaluate our initial decisions," said a former Boeing engineer. "And even after we had reassessed it...there was continued discussion by management about delegating even more items down to the Boeing Company."
What's more is that even though the MCAS system supposedly accommodates a 5 degree nose-down movement of the plane, it was discovered that after the Lion Air crash the Boeing plane tail could in fact move only 2.5 degrees, which was ultimately sub-standard.
In a statement defending itself, the FAA claims it was prompted by Congress to speed up the certification process under the guise of Organization Designation Authorization program that was established in 2005. "FAA has never allowed companies to police themselves or self-certify their aircraft," it said. "The use of delegation has been a vital part of our safety system since the 1920s, and without it, the success of our country's aviation system likely would have been stifled."
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/fast-tracked-aircraft-certification-pushed-by-boeing-comes-under-the-spotlight-11553428800
- https://www.foxnews.com/world/boeing-and-faa-questioned-about-safety-of-the-737-max-safety-system-days-before-ethiopian-airlines-crash
- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/25/dot-forms-special-committee-to-review-faas-aircraft-approval-process.html