FAA proposes shielding Boeing employees overseeing safety

Regulators are taking steps to shield US aviation-industry engineers from the kind of company pressure that was revealed in investigations of the design flaw on the Boeing 737 Max linked to two fatal crashes. The FAA Monday proposed new policies that would shield employees at Boeing and other planemakers who act on behalf of the federal government to review safety, including would-be whistle-blowers. “New draft guidance calls for manufacturers to monitor, report and investigate all allegations of interference and to report the results to the FAA,” the agency said in a statement. “It also establishes a clear path for these employees to speak freely with FAA certification officials at any time.” The proposal addresses one of the most controversial issues to emerge from the Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people: it was Boeing’s own engineers who approved the final design of the system on the jet that led to the crashes, not FAA employees. Boeing said that it supports efforts to improve transparency and independence in the arrangement and will work with the agency to ensure those personnel “can perform their vital roles without interference through open communication and a supportive environment.”<br/>