US Department of Transportation investigating FAA’s approval process of Boeing 737 Max planes
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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the US Department of Transportation is investigating the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval process for the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, which were involved in two recent fatal crashes – Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines – that killed a combined 346 people.
According to the WSJ, investigators are looking into the aircraft’s flight safety system which may have played a role in both crashes.
The investigation started after a new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft of Indonesian carrier Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea in October last year. All 189 people on board were killed in the crash.
Then the same model aircraft, flown by Ethiopian Airlines, went down shortly after take off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board in the beginning of the month.
It is not clear if the two investigations are related, though similarities between the crashes have been noted.
The FAA initially resisted moves by its international peers to ground the 737 MAX after the second crash. The European Union and various countries around the world have since pulled the planes for investigation.
