US: Boeing criticised for 737 Max crisis at House hearing

Boeing has “caused a global aviation crisis of trust,” the head of a pilots union said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday in which lawmakers, pilots and airline officials expressed frustration even as the company makes progress in returning its 737 Max jet to service. Daniel F. Carey, president of the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing American Airlines pilots, said the fallout from two Max crashes that killed 346 people “will require global solutions to restore and bolster aviation’s global safety culture and reputation.” The Max has been grounded since March, after a second crash in a matter of months. In the aftermath of those accidents critics have found fault with the design, certification and rollout of the Max. “These crashes are demonstrable evidence that our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us,” said Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who landed a plane in the Hudson River and is known as Sully. Witnesses at the hearing, held by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s aviation subcommittee, also raised questions about whether the FAA had ceded too much authority to companies like Boeing, which help certify their own planes. “These tragic incidents and the revelations surrounding them have shaken the public trust in our entire aviation system due to the decisions made by Boeing during the original certification process, the slow and inadequate response in the wake of the loss of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and the questions surrounding F.A.A. oversight throughout,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said in her prepared remarks. Boeing said in a statement that it was working to regain the public’s trust.<br/>