The US Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has said it will conduct a review of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) supervision during the Boeing 737 MAXs development. The agency's role in the MAX's MCAS system will come under particular scrutiny.

FAA's MAX oversight under review

US House Transportation chair Peter DeFazio will lead the review into the FAA's oversight of two key safety systems installed on the Boeing 737 MAX. DeFazio and aviation subcommittee chair Rick Larsen wrote to DOT Inspector General Eric Soskin on Friday requesting an investigation into "the FAA’s refusal to exercise proper oversight over Boeing’s apparent misconduct."

As reported by Reuters, an FAA spokesperson said the agency "welcomes the outside scrutiny," which won't be the first time it has come under investigation from the OIG. Chair DeFazio led a committee back in 2020 which determined that Boeing "withheld crucial information from the FAA, its customers, and 737 MAX pilots, including concealing the very existence of MCAS from 737 MAX pilots."

What exactly will be looked at?

Two areas will be focused on - the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) and the lack of angle of attack (AoA) disagree alerts on the majority of MAX aircraft. Ultimately, the crashes were caused by incorrect angle of attack data forcing the automated MCAS to overcorrect pitch and plummet in altitude.

An investigation into the MAX crashes revealed that the FAA allowed Boeing to remove references to the MCAS system in aircraft manuals, meaning that pilots were not aware of the system. There was also an issue with the MAXs angle of attack disagree alerts, namely that around 80% of planes did not have this feature.

Boeing knew back in 2017 that this safety feature was not working properly on the majority of MAXs but did not inform the FAA, claiming that it would not impact safety. However, after the Lion Air crash in October 2018, the FAA became aware of this issue and agreed with Boeing's determination that it posed a "low risk."

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Testing times for Boeing

This will be the fourth time OIG has conducted a review of the Boeing 737 MAX, the latest of which looked at the FAA's role in getting the MAX recertified. The US-based planemaker is facing multiple challenges in the next few months, including a deadline for implementing new cockpit alerts on the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 expiring in December.

Boeing 737 MAX 10 in Renton
Photo: Getty Images

Things could get worse for Boeing and its executives after a Texas judge ruled that the MAX victims are to be considered "crime victims," potentially leading to further lawsuits and criminal prosecution.

On top of all that, the FAA recently proposed an airworthiness directive concerning various Boeing 737 NG models experiencing widespread fatigue damage (WFD). The directive, if adopted, would include the 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER.

What are your thoughts on the FAA's role in the development of the Boeing 737 MAX? Let us know your insights in the comments.

Source: Reuters

  • 787-8 Dreamliner
    Boeing
    Stock Code:
    BA
    Date Founded:
    1916-07-15
    CEO:
    Dave Calhoun
    Headquarters Location:
    Chicago, USA
    Key Product Lines:
    Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787
    Business Type:
    Planemaker