Aeroplane manufacturer, Boeing has continued to sink deep into murky water after two consecutive crashes of its aircraft, Boeing 737 MAX 8 model claimed the lives of 346 passengers in the space of five months.
The United States Lawmakers have now set up a committee to examine the matter and question the employees of the company in their drive to ascertain the exact cause of the plane crash which was blamed on a faulty Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
[READ: Revealed: Boeing knew of Max’s faulty system and could have prevented crashes]
A worrisome future for Boeing: However, the lawmakers are not the only ones worried about company’s credibility, as the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has put the plane manufacturer under scrutiny after it insisted all Boeing Max 737 aeroplanes must undergo flights certification by October. All these strict conditions are to ensure the manufacturer meets the required safety standards.
What you should know: The US Lawmakers representing the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sent an email to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dennis Muilenburg to request interviews with his staff.
“The committee believes certain employees may be able to shed light on issues central to the committee’s investigation, including information about the design, development and certification of the 737 Max,” the leaders of the committee said in the statement.
Boeing refused to respond to the email which demanded an audience with its employees but decided to issue a statement critiquing the lawmakers’ new line of action. It expressed its unhappiness with the committee despite its cooperation thus far.
“We’re deeply disappointed the committee chose to release private correspondence given our extensive cooperation to date. We will continue to be transparent and responsive to the committee.”
What this means: The future of Boeing’s airworthiness has continued to hang in the balance. The company’s operations have been grounded and it is being haunted by the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the US Lawmakers. The future of the aeroplane manufacturer is elusive as it might never take any flight certification test while undergoing probes.
[READ MORE: Another trouble for Boeing as investigators discover a new flaw on MAX 737 plane]
The Backstory: In March 2019, a Boeing 737-800 Max, Ethiopia Airline ET302 scheduled to fly from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya crashed after six minutes of taking off, killing all 157 passengers on board.
This was the second crash involving Boeing after Lion Air 610, another Boeing aircraft crashed five months earlier. The Boeing 737-800 Max, Ethiopia Airline ET302 killed 35 different nationals on board including Nigerian Professor, Pius Adesanmi. Several Airlines, including Cayman Airlines, reviewed their business agreements with the Boeing 737-8 aircraft.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 model first flew on 29 January 2016 and entered service in 2017, making it one of the newest aircraft in Boeing’s commercial airliner offerings, and the newest generation of Boeing 737 planes.
[READ FURTHER: 400 pilots are suing Boeing, but won’t reveal their identities]