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Former Boeing pilot cops criminal charge over 737 MAX crashes
An Ex-Boeing test pilot has been indicted for fraud in the ongoing 737 MAX probe
Boeing’s former 737 MAX test pilot, Mark Forkner has been indicted for fraud for allegedly misleading regulators about problems tied to the aircraft’s two fatal crashes.
The ex-chief technical pilot is the first Boeing employee to be charged over the 737 Max’s failures.
In October 2019, pilots struggled to regain control of the MAX and it plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia.
Five months later, another MAX crashed near in Ethiopia just six minutes after takeoff, killing all on board and forcing regulators around the globe to ground the plane.
346 people perished in both accidents
Investigators found that both crashes were tied to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, software, which had been designed to help stabilize the jet after heavier, repositioned engines placed on the aircraft caused the plane’s nose to point too far upward in certain circumstances.
In both crashes, incorrect data from a faulty sensor caused the MCAS to misfire, forcing the planes to nose down repeatedly.
The MCAS system was not mentioned in the pilot manual which allowed pilots to enter the MAX cockpit without simulator training that would have cost the airlines more money.
“In an attempt to save Boeing money, Forkner allegedly withheld critical information from regulators,”
Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas said in a release.
“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. The Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud – especially in industries where the stakes are so high.”
Internal messages that surfaced in October of 2019 between Forkner and another Boeing pilot appeared to show the company had been aware about the problems with the MCAS system in 2016 – two years before the crashes.