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A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 16 May 2019

FAA chief defends handling of Boeing Max safety approval

By DAVID KOENIG, MARCY The 737 Max is Boeing’s best- ment, although its pilot mated flight-control system The Boeing representative
GORDON and TOM KRISHER selling plane and it is built in union confirmed that it too that can push the nose of called the Lion Air crash a
WASHINGTON (AP) — The his home state of Washing- has received a subpoena. the plane down if a single tragedy, adding, “an even
acting chief of the Federal ton. Larsen said Congress Congressional investiga- sensor detects that the worse thing would be an-
Aviation Administration de- must help make the pub- tions into the FAA’s relation- plane could be nearing an other one.” He promised
fended his agency’s safety a software update in six
certification of the Boeing weeks.
737 Max jetliner, the plane The update was still not
involved in two deadly done when the Ethiopian
crashes, and the FAA’s de- crash occurred more than
cision not to ground the three months later.
jet until other regulators “Boeing did not treat the
around the world had al- 737 Max 8 situation like the
ready done so. emergency it was,” said
During a congressional Daniel Carey, president of
hearing Wednesday, the the American Airlines pi-
FAA official, Daniel Elwell, lots’ union, which has filed
also stood by the agency’s public records related to
decades-old policy of us- the matter. Carey said his
ing employees of aircraft pilots are seeking “proper
manufacturers like Boeing oversight” of Boeing, the
to conduct inspections on FAA and airlines including
their own companies’ work. their own. Boeing represen-
Boeing is updating an au- tatives were not invited to
tomated flight-control sys- Wednesday’s hearing.
tem that has been impli- Nadia Milleron, whose
cated in the two crashes daughter, Samya Stumo,
involving the 737 Max. El- was on the Ethiopian Air-
well said he expects Boe- lines plane, was in the audi-
ing to complete its work “in ence. She said FAA seems
the next week or so,” after Daniel Elwell, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, testifies during a House to be rushing to approve
which the FAA will analyze Transportation Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, on Boeing’s fixes to the Max
the status of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
the software changes and Associated Press even before the accident
conduct test flights. investigations are finished
“In the U.S., the 737 Max will lic feel safe about flying ship with Boeing are in the aerodynamic stall. — something that could
return to service only when because “if they don’t fly, early stages. Rep. Peter De- That system, called MCAS, take many months.
the FAA’s analysis of the airlines don’t need to buy Fazio, D-Ore., who heads was triggered on both fatal “It is possible that these
facts and technical data airplanes,” and “then there the full Transportation Com- flights by faulty sensor read- planes should never go
indicate that it is safe to do will be no jobs” in aircraft mittee, said he and Larsen ings, and pilots were not back in the air,” she said.
so,” Elwell said. manufacturing. Other law- have been frustrated after able to regain control of Milleron, whose family is su-
Meanwhile, the Senate makers defended the FAA seeking information from the planes as they plunged ing Boeing and Ethiopian
Commerce Committee and Boeing and suggested Boeing. to Earth. Airlines and pilots Airlines, said travelers hold
held a short hearing for that the Oct. 29 crash of “Boeing has yet to provide were not told about MCAS the final power to ground
President Donald Trump’s a Lion Air jet off Indonesia a single document,” he until after the October the plane.
choice to take over the and the March 10 crash of said. “We’ve got to get to crash. “The only thing that is going
FAA: Stephen Dickson, a an Ethiopian Airlines Max the bottom of this.” “When I first heard of this, to stop this is the public,”
former Delta Air Lines pilot were due at least partly Elwell defended FAA’s (I) thought that the MCAS Milleron said in an interview.
and executive. to pilot error. A total of 346 practice of designating should have been more “If the public is concerned
During the two-hour ques- people were killed in the employees of Boeing and adequately explained in and if the Boeing 737 Max
tioning of Elwell by the crashes.”It bothers me that other aerospace manufac- the ops manual and the 8 ... becomes toxic ... that’s
House aviation subcom- we continue to tear down turers to do some inspec- flight manual,” Elwell said. going to make a change.”
mittee, lawmakers pressed our system based on what tion work, saying it takes Boeing is changing MCAS Across Capitol Hill, the Sen-
him on the FAA’s reliance has happened in two other advantage of industry ex- to make it less powerful, ate Commerce Commit-
on designated Boeing em- countries,” said Rep. Sam pertise, and “when done and to link the system to tee held a relatively placid
ployees during the planes’ Graves, R-Mo. right, is indispensable to the two sensors instead of one. hearing for Dickson, the
certification process. Boeing is already the sub- health and safety of our And it will include more ex- nominee to replace Elwell,
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., ject of a criminal investi- system.” planation of the system, FAA’s acting administrator
told Elwell that the public gation by the Justice De- At a Senate hearing in Elwell said, “to make pilots since January 2018.
believes “you were in bed partment. Boeing custom- March, Elwell said it would more aware and respond Dickson promised that if
with those you were sup- ers Southwest Airlines and cost $1.8 billion a year if better to an anomaly.” he is confirmed by the full
posed to be regulating, American Airlines and their FAA did all the work done American Airlines pilots Senate, he would not hesi-
and that’s why it took so pilot unions have received by designees at companies pressed Boeing in Novem- tate to take enforcement
long” to ground the planes. subpoenas related to that regulated by the agency. ber — shortly after the first action against companies
“The FAA has a credibil- investigation; United Air- On Wednesday, the act- Max crash — to fix the soft- and FAA would not be
ity problem,” declared the lines, which also flew the ing chief defended the ware quickly. captive to the industry it
subcommittee chairman, Max until it was grounded FAA’s 2017 approval of the “We don’t want to rush regulates.
Rick Larsen, D-Wash. in March, declined to com- Max including its new auto- and do a crappy job of fix- U.S. aviation has an envi-
ing things,” a Boeing official able safety record over the
responded, according to a past decade, Dickson said,
recording of the meeting. but the industry is only as
“We also don’t want to fix good as the last takeoff or
the wrong things.” landing.q