FAA misled Congress on Boeing 737 Max, probe finds
By Michael Laris / The Washington Post
WASHINGTON Investigators examining a whistleblower complaint have concluded that safety inspectors who worked on training requirements for Boeing 737 Max pilots were themselves underqualified and that the Federal Aviation Administration provided misleading information about the issue to Congress.
The findings of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which independently investigates whistleblower complaints, have added to questions about the effectiveness and transparency of safety oversight at the FAA, which has come under scrutiny after two new 737 Max jets it had certified as safe crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people.
Boeing and the FAA have faced intense criticism for failing to make sure pilots had the information and training necessary to handle any problems with a new automated safety feature on the Max, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Investigators say the feature, fed by faulty data from a sensor, repeatedly misfired, forcing the nose of both planes down before they crashed.
In a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday, Special Counsel Henry Kerner wrote that FAAs official responses to Congress appear to have been misleading in their portrayal of FAA employee training and competency.
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