Move FM Global News

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said in a report that some Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) engineers suggested grounding the Boeing 737 MAX in March 2019 after a second fatal crash.

The report revealed individual that engineers recommended “grounding the airplane while the accident was being investigated based on what they perceived as similarities” between two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. “Yet agency officials at headquarters and the Seattle (Aircraft Certification Office) opted not to do so.”

The FAA ultimately grounded the MAX on March 13, 2019 and lifted the flight prohibition order in November 2020 after Boeing made a series of software upgrades and training changes.

The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia led to a 20-month grounding of the best-selling plane, costing Boeing more than $20 billion and prompting lawmakers to pass sweeping legislation reforming airplane certifications.

The report said the FAA has not updated the underlying order and related guidance for its post-event risk assessment processes in over a decade and lacks “quantifiable human factors data, such as pilot reactions to non-normal situations.” It also said FAA engineers “are not all following or receiving the same guidance or training.” It made seven recommendations for improvements for risk assessments and other issues.

The FAA said it agrees with the Inspector General’s recommendations. “We also continue to look for additional opportunities to apply lessons learned from the Boeing 737 MAX’s return to service,” the agency said last week.