Boeing's chief test pilot indicted for fraud over 737 Max crashes [View all]

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Last edited Sat Oct 16, 2021, 06:35 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Washington Post

National Security

Boeing’s chief test pilot indicted for fraud over 737 Max crashes

By Devlin Barrett and Michael Laris
Today at 6:57 p.m. EDT

A former chief test pilot for Boeing has been charged with allegedly lying to federal authorities about a part of the flight controls on 737 Max airplanes — a model that led to horrific crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed hundreds of people. (1)

The Justice Department announced the indictment Thursday of Mark A. Forkner, 49, charging that he deceived the Federal Aviation Administration during the agency’s evaluation and certification of the 737 Max airplaine.

Two 737 Max jets crashed in late 2018 and early 2019, killing 346 people and prompting airlines to ground that model of plane while authorities investigated how its computer systems may have led to the fatalities.

[Boeing CEO apologizes for lives lost in 737 MAX crashes]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/04/04/boeing-ceo-dennis-muilenburg-apologizes-lives-lost-ethiopian-indonesian-plane-crashes/

“In an attempt to save Boeing money, Forkner allegedly withheld critical information from regulators,” said Chad E. Meacham, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. “His callous choice to mislead the FAA hampered the agency’s ability to protect the flying public and left pilots in the lurch, lacking information about certain 737 MAX flight controls.”

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This is a developing story. It will be updated.

By Devlin Barrett
Devlin Barrett writes about the FBI and the Justice Department, and is the author of "October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election." He was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for National Reporting, for coverage of Russian interference in the U.S. election. Twitter https://twitter.com/DevlinBarrett

By Michael Laris
Michael Laris writes about the transformation of the U.S. transportation system. He has covered government accountability and was a reporter in Beijing. Twitter https://twitter.com/mikelaris

(1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/text-messages-show-boeing-employees-knew-in-2016-of-problems-that-turned-deadly-on-the-737-max/2019/10/18/8578c990-f1ca-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/boeing-indict-mark-forkner-pilot/2021/10/14/166e2dfc-2d3b-11ec-985d-3150f7e106b2_story.html