FAA Faces ‘frank Questions' From Global Regulators Over Boeing 737 Max Safety

The Federal Aviation Administration faced "frank questions" in Fort Worth Thursday from air safety regulators representing more than 30 countries about the process for determining when to let Boeing 737 Max planes fly again.FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell described the closed-door meeting as "unprecedented in his career" and said he was encouraged that a consensus of countries want to continue sharing information. With the Max's global grounding now in its 10th week, regulators are discussing what steps their respective countries want to see before clearing the aircraft for takeoffs.Crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people in a five-month span put Boeing's top-selling jetliners and the company's relationship with its U.S. safety agency under a microscope.Despite scrutiny across the globe for failing to ground the plane until many other countries had acted, Elwell declined to characterize any portion of the all-day meeting as including criticism of the FAA. Regulatory bodies outside of the U.S., including in Canada and Europe, have signaled recently that they intend to conduct their own validation before recertifying the aircraft."Internationally, each country has to make its own decision, but the FAA will make available to our counterparts all that we have learned, all that we have done and all of our assistance," Elwell said.  Continue reading...