Members of a Senate subcommittee clashed with Federal Aviation Administration officials Wednesday, contending the agency was too deferential to Boeing in approving the 737 Max.
Senators cited reports of lax oversight as the jet and flight control software called MCAS were developed. MCAS has been implicated in two deadly crashes.
Rhode Island Republican Jack Reed asked about a report that the FAA let Boeing do an interim fix after an Indonesian Lion Air Max crashed in October, knowing that a safer, permanent fix was needed. The software points the plane’s nose down to avoid aerodynamic stalling.
FAA Associate Administrator Ali Bahrami said the fix was reviewed by FAA engineers and in line with normal practices. He said the agency recognized it was urgent to tell pilots how to disable MCAS.
