Report: Task Force Finds Errors By Boeing, FAA During 737 Max Certification

Boeing Co BA failed to adequately explain to regulators a new automated system that contributed to two crashes of the 737 Max, and the Federal Aviation Administration lacked the capability to analyze what Boeing did share about the new planes, according to a multiagency task force report, The New York Times reported Friday. 

The newspaper said it obtained a draft copy of the report, which is expected to be made public today.

The report scrutinized the FAA’s certification of the Max’s flight control system. 

In each of the crashes — one in Indonesia last October and another in Ethiopia in March — the pilots struggled as a single damaged sensor sent the plane into an irrecoverable nose-dive within minutes of takeoff. A total of 346 people were killed in the crashes, which prompted regulators around the world to ground the 737 Max. 

The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, flight control system was designed and certified to enhance the pitch stability of the airplane so that it feels and flies like other 737s. MCAS is designed to activate in manual flight.

The report found that while the FAA had been made aware of MCAS, "the information and discussions about MCAS were so fragmented and were delivered to disconnected groups" that it "was difficult to recognize the impacts and implications of this system," the Times said. 

Boeing is updating the system and said it will install a modified version when the Max returns to service.

Boeing shares were trading slightly positive at $371 in Friday's premarket session. The stock has a 52-week high of $446.01 and a 52-week low of $292.47.

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