US congressional report calls out Boeing for dubious 737 Max recertification efforts

Boeing officials "inappropriately coached" testing pilots during recertification efforts after two fatal 737 Max crashes killed 346 people, a US congressional report has concluded. The report by the Senate Commerce Committee alleged that both Boeing officials and Federal Aviation Administration "had established a pre-determined outcome to reaffirm a long-held human factor assumption related to pilot reaction time." 

Read: Boeing Suffers More Canceled Orders For Its 737 Max Plane

Varied response time

The probe began following a tip from a whistleblower who alleged that Boeing officials encouraged test pilots to use a particular control during an exercise, resulting in a pilot response time of around four seconds. However, if conducted without the particular control, it took another pilot 16 seconds to react in the same test. The report alleged that Boeing, on numerous previous occasions, had failed to adequately consider how pilots respond to cockpit emergencies in its development of the 737 Max.

Boeing said that it was reviewing the findings in full and took them seriously while the FAA said the report consisted of many "unsubstantiated allegations". It also stated that the design that leads to the crash has been altered and safety issues with the aircraft had been addressed.

Read: Senate Investigators Fault FAA Over Boeing Jet, Safety

Boeing 737 Max mishap

In March 2019, the Boeing 737 Max passenger airliner was grounded worldwide after 346 people died in two crashes which came within five months. Lion Air Flight 610 crashed on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Ethiopian Airlines immediately grounded its remaining 737 Max fleet.

The report came almost a month after the FAA gave a green flag to the Boeing airliner allowing it to fly again. In a statement, Boeing CEO David Calhoun said that every day the company’s employees "rededicate ourselves to ensuring accidents like the ones that led to the decision to suspend operations never happen again." 

Read: Brazilian Regulator Clears Grounded Boeing Plane To Fly

Read: European Regulator Moves To Clear Boeing 737 For Flight