Fatal Boeing crashes result of ‘horrific culmination’ of events

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The firm, which in 2021 rejected a $1.2bn (£950m) takeover bid bd from private equity firm Lone Star, saw its adjusted operating profit rise 61 per cent year-on-year, to £45.8m.
The firm, which in 2021 rejected a $1.2bn (£950m) takeover bid bd from private equity firm Lone Star, saw its adjusted operating profit rise 61 per cent year-on-year, to £45.8m.

The two Boeing 737 Max crashes which killed 346 passengers last year were the result of a “horrific culmination” of errors at the aerospace giant.

 A report into the two crashes carried out by the US Congress found that the accidents were caused by a “series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”

After an investigation lasting 18 months, the report said that there was no one error responsible for the events, but blamed a “culture of concealment” at the company.

The findings come as Boeing steps up its efforts to have the aircraft cleared to fly again after its grounding last March.

Damningly, it said that Boeing had withheld information about a key safety system, called the MCAS, from pilots and regulators.

The “very existence” MCAS, which was linked to both of the crashes, was concealed from pilots, it added.

Meanwhile, the FAA “failed to ensure the safety of the traveling public” in its oversight and certification of the aircraft. 

In a statement, Boeing said that it had made “fundamental changes” to the company as a result of the 250-page report.

“We have learned many hard lessons as a company from the accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and from the mistakes we have made.  

“As this report recognizes, we have made fundamental changes to our company as a result, and continue to look for ways to improve. Change is always hard and requires daily commitment, but we as a company are dedicated to doing the work”, it added.

The FAA said: “[We are] committed to continually advancing aviation safety and looks forward to working with the committee to implement improvements identified in its report. 

“We are already undertaking important initiatives based on what we have learned from our own internal reviews as well as independent reviews of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents.