US Federal Aviation Administrator’s testimony comes three years following the crash of Lion Air 610 that killed all 189 on board and the second crash just five months later of another Boeing 737 MAX8 that crashed after takeoff in Ethiopia killing all 157 on board
US Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Steve Dickson testified on November 3, 2021 for three hours before the Senate Committee as crash victims’ family members sat in the audience listening. Dickson’s testimony comes one week after he testified before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the certification process of new aircraft. His testimony comes three years following the crash of Lion Air 610 that killed all 189 on board and the second crash just five months later of another Boeing 737 MAX8 that crashed after takeoff in Ethiopia killing all 157 on board.
US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, convened a full committee hearing titled “Implementation of Aviation Safety Reform” that examined the urgency of implementing aviation safety, certification and oversight reforms mandated by the Aircraft, Certification, Safety and Accountability Act (ACSAA) of 2020. Senators discussed the approach of the FAA to effectuating ACSAA and its work to implement provisions of the legislation in accordance with congressionally mandated timelines.
For three hours, Dickson discussed topics such as the FAA’s delegation and certification processes, safety culture and systems oversight practices since the passage of ACSAA as well as the impact of COVID on current aviation schedules.
Hundreds of family and friends who lost loved ones on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft petitioned DOT officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Dickson to withdraw Boeing’s ability to certify its aircraft
Several family members were able to attend the Senate hearing today either in person or via the internet.
Families and friends who lost loved ones in the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jet in 2019 continue to ask Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to terminate the aircraft maker’s ability to certify its own airplanes, a provision allowed in a program called the Organization Designation Authority (ODA) that allows third parties to perform functions of the FAA.
Hundreds of family and friends who lost loved ones on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft petitioned DOT officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Dickson to withdraw Boeing’s ability to certify its aircraft because “it has become clear that Boeing is not a company that can be trusted with the public safety responsibilities conferred by the ODA,” according to their petition to the DOT dated Oct. 19, 2021.
The petition cites 15 reasons why Boeing misconduct requires the FAA to terminate Boeing’s ODA including the company’s “deceiving the FAA” about the methods the MAX aircraft operated “by way of misleading statements, half-truths and omissions,” creating “an ODA culture that applies undue pressure to engineering personnel so they are not able to exercise independent judgment free from organizational conflicts of interest,” and “failing to insulate the ODA from Boeing’s profit motives.”
Boeing settles 737 MAX lawsuit
with $225mn settlement
Meanwhile, Boeing’s current and former directors have reached an agreement with shareholders in a lawsuit concerning board oversight of the 737 MAX aircraft, the Wall Street Journal reported on November 4, 2021.
The settlement is for approximately $225 million, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The money will be paid by the directors’ insurers, the article stated.
Boeing has also agreed to appoint a board member with experience in aviation safety and hire an ombudsman to handle internal issues, the WSJ further reported. It said the settlement would be filed in a Delaware court on November 5, 2021.
The two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people and led to the plane being grounded for 20 months. A judge in Delaware ruled on September 7, 2021 that investors could sue Boeing, saying the board had failed to monitor the safety and airworthiness of Boeing aircraft. Shareholders had argued that Boeing directors and officers failed in their oversight of airplane safety and thus in protecting the company’s value.
A US judge has ruled that Boeing investors may proceed with a lawsuit over failed oversight in the two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. The crashes were caused by a software system called MCAS, which was designed to pitch the nose down under certain circumstances. However, the system was based on a sensor lacking redundancy and was not detailed in manuals provided to airlines and pilots.
A former Boeing test pilot was indicted in October 2021 for misleading the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the certification process of the MAX. The Department of Justice said Mark Forkner had “intentionally withheld” crucial information about MCAS from the FAA and from Boeing’s airline customers.
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