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U.S. lawmaker seeks Boeing whistle-blowers, some MAX 737 orders in jeopardy
WASHINGTON/JAKARTA (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker on Friday urged current or former Boeing Co and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees to come forward with any information about the certification program for the 737 MAX, which has suffered two fatal crashes in five months.
Boeing and the FAA are under global regulatory scrutiny over software and training on the signature aircraft. Boeing risked losing a $6 billion order for the jet on Friday, its first since the world's entire fleet was grounded last week.
Indonesian airline Garuda said it plans to scrap its order because some passengers are afraid to board the plane, although industry analysts said the deal was already in doubt.
In the United States, the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio urged people to use the committee's whistleblower web page.
"It is imperative we continue to ensure we have the highest level of safety for the traveling public," DeFazio said.
American Airlines pilots were preparing to test Boeing's planned software upgrade for an anti-stall system on MAX simulators this weekend, saying they want their own safety guarantees on the software fix.
The 737 MAX was Boeing's fastest selling jet before an Ethiopian Airlines crash near Addis Ababa on March 10, which followed a Lion Air crash in Indonesia on Oct. 29.
Ethiopian and French investigators have pointed to "clear similarities" between the two crashes, which killed 346 people, putting pressure on Boeing and U.S. regulators to come up with an adequate fix. No direct link has been proven between the crashes but attention has focused on whether pilots had the correct information about the "angle of attack" at which the wing slices through the air.
Ethiopia has shared limited information with foreign investigators, Reuters reported on Thursday, and an industry source said Boeing had not yet received any black box and voice recorder data.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, on Friday raised concerns in a letter to the FAA about regulations that allow aircraft manufacturers to effectively self-certify the safety of their planes and "left the fox guarding the henhouse."
The FAA declined to comment.
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https://www.marketscreener.com/news/U-S-lawmaker-seeks-Boeing-whistleblowers-some-MAX-737-orders-in-jeopardy–28203996/?countview=0