The two fatal 737 MAX crashes “never should have happened” and “could have been prevented”, said the US House transportation and infrastructure committee in its report on Wednesday.
The House report, which concludes an 18-month investigation, condemned both Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for their roles in the tragic accidents.
The House said the incidents “were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake, or mismanaged event”, but rather the “horrific culmination” of engineering flaws, mismanagement and a severe lack of industry and federal oversight.
“Boeing failed in its design and development of the MAX, and the FAA failed in its oversight of Boeing and its certification of the aircraft,” the report said.
It also argued that Boeing emphasised its own profits over public safety, and that the manufacturer had been granted too much sway over its own safety protocols, remaining consistent with previous reports of a similar nature.
The report said Boeing made “faulty design and performance assumptions”, making specific reference to the 737 MAX’s Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which has been directly linked to both fatal crashes.
Due to the fact that the MAX’s engines are larger than its predecessor, this caused the plane to pitch its nose upwards. The MCAS was designed to counter this tendency and pitch the nose back down.
The system was programmed to read data from only a single sensor, which, if faulty, would result in the plane sending itself towards the ground, as pilots desperately tried to override the system, to no avail.
The FAA has since imposed new safeguards to the MCAS, including ensuring it is reading data from two AOA sensors, prior to the 737 MAX re-entering commercial service.
The House report heavily criticised Boeing, stating that it withheld “crucial information from the FAA, its customers, and 737 MAX pilots”, including “concealing the very existence of MCAS from 737 MAX pilots”.
Despite this, it also said the FAA “failed to ensure the safety of the travelling public”.
“This is a tragedy that never should have happened,” said committee chairman Peter DeFazio. “It could have been prevented, and we’re going to take steps in our legislation to see that it never happens again.”
Commenting on the report, a Boeing spokesperson said the company had “learned many hard lessons as a company from the accidents … and from the mistakes we have made”.
Boeing said it had co-operated fully with the House committee and that revised design work on the 737 MAX had received intensive internal and external review involving more than 375,000 engineering and testing hours and 1,300 test flights.
Tests have now been completed with the updated 737 MAX software in the US, Canada and Europe.
The FAA said in a statement it would work with lawmakers “to implement improvements identified in its report”, adding it was “focused on advancing overall aviation safety by improving our organisation, processes and culture”.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the Senate are in the process of introducing reforms that would restructure how the FAA oversees aircraft certification.
A Senate vote on the legislation was due to take place on Wednesday, however has now been postponed.
It is unclear if the decision to postpone the vote was made as a direct result of the release of the House report.
