Skip Navigation

Watchdog faults FAA for ‘significant misunderstanding’ of flight system

  • By Jaclyn Diaz/NPR
A Tunisair Boeing 737 passenger aircraft arrives at Nice airport in Nice, southern France on February 22, 2021, after arriving from the Tunisian capital of Tunis. - The French Riviera will go into lockdown for the next two weekends to contain Covid-19 which has been spreading faster in the tourist hotspot than elsewhere in France, the region's top official said on February 22, 2021. Controls at airports and at the land border the southern Alpes-Maritimes region shares with Italy would be tightened over the next two weeks, prefect Bernard Gonzalez said, and stores larger than 5,000 metres square (54,000 square feet) would be closed. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP) (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

 Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images

A Tunisair Boeing 737 passenger aircraft arrives at Nice airport in Nice, southern France on February 22, 2021, after arriving from the Tunisian capital of Tunis. - The French Riviera will go into lockdown for the next two weekends to contain Covid-19 which has been spreading faster in the tourist hotspot than elsewhere in France, the region's top official said on February 22, 2021. Controls at airports and at the land border the southern Alpes-Maritimes region shares with Italy would be tightened over the next two weeks, prefect Bernard Gonzalez said, and stores larger than 5,000 metres square (54,000 square feet) would be closed. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP) (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

The Federal Aviation Administration must address “weaknesses” in its oversight of Boeing that led the agency to miss flaws that contributed to two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, a federal watchdog has found.

An inspector general’s report from the Department of Transportation said U.S. aviation regulators do not understand the plane’s flight control software that caused two devastating crashes in 2018 and 2019.

A Lion Air flight crashed off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018, killing all 189 passengers and crew members. A second crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane occurred in March 2019, killing all 157 people on board.

The 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years. Boeing has since redesigned the aircraft, and the FAA has certified it to return to the skies. But the inspector general concluded the FAA’s approach to analyzing the integration of new technology to existing aircraft designs must be improved.

The 63-page report released Wednesday is the product of a review ordered by former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.

It recommends 14 changes the FAA must make “to restore confidence.” The agency says it agrees with the suggestions and has plans to implement all of them, but indicated it could take five years to do so.

The Federal Aviation Administration must address “weaknesses” in its oversight of Boeing that led the agency to miss flaws that contributed to two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, a federal watchdog has found.

An inspector general’s report from the Department of Transportation said U.S. aviation regulators do not understand the plane’s flight control software that caused two devastating crashes in 2018 and 2019.

A Lion Air flight crashed off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018, killing all 189 passengers and crew members. A second crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane occurred in March 2019, killing all 157 people on board.

The 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years. Boeing has since redesigned the aircraft, and the FAA has certified it to return to the skies. But the inspector general concluded the FAA’s approach to analyzing the integration of new technology to existing aircraft designs must be improved.

The 63-page report released Wednesday is the product of a review ordered by former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.

It recommends 14 changes the FAA must make “to restore confidence.” The agency says it agrees with the suggestions and has plans to implement all of them, but indicated it could take five years to do so.

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Up Next
National & World News

Architect of the Capitol outlines $30 million in damages from pro-Trump riot