FBI Investigating 737 MAX Certification Process

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Image: Boeing

The FBI has reportedly joined a criminal investigation into the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX in the wake of the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610, according to The Seattle Times. The report comes after Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao issued a memo (PDF) on Tuesday confirming a previous request for the DOT’s Inspector General to conduct an audit “to compile an objective and detailed factual history of the activities that resulted in the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.” 346 people were killed in the two MAX crashes, which happened within five months of each other.

The investigation is being conducted by the DOT Inspector General and overseen by the criminal division of the U.S. Justice Department. It has also been reported that, based on information from the Lion Air crash, the MAX certification investigation may have begun prior to the Ethiopian Airlines accident. It is expected that investigators will be looking closely at how the FAA has regulated Boeing and safety certification work performed by company employees for the FAA. Boeing has previously stated that it will cooperate fully with the FAA, DOT and NTSB “on all issues relating to both the Lion Air and the Ethiopian Airlines accidents.”

As previously reported by AVweb, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said on Monday that a software update and new pilot training procedures to address “concerns discovered in the aftermath of the Lion Air Flight 610 accident” will be coming soon. Those updates will need to be approved by the FAA before the MAX stands any chance of being allowed off the ground. Regulators in Europe and Canada have said that they will conduct their own reviews of any fixes Boeing provides.

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