FlyersRights Addresses NYT Story Regarding 737 MAX
To the Editor,
Your story focus on the defective 737 MAX software, Boeing and FAA malfeasance and misfeasance as the fatal flaws omits another ongoing safety flaw: the long-standing secrecy policy of FAA in its aircraft safety decision-making.
FAA and Boeing while publicly promising transparency have continued to shield all technical data on the MCAS fix including the re-certification test protocols and flight test results from public disclosure. Boeing and FAA claiming “trade secrets” redacted over 99% of 8,000 pages of documents released under court order in a suit brought by FlyersRights.org, documents FAA admits it used to unground the MAX.
FlyersRights lawsuit against the FAA under the Freedom of Information Act, is still pending in US District Court. The lawsuit was supported by seven top independent aviation safety experts. All testified they could not determine whether an ungrounded MAX was safe without examining the technical data. Several experts went further asserting the MAX design is inherently unstable, violates required safety design standards for commercial aircraft and can still crash under a variety of scenarios.
FlyersRights with several frequent fliers also appealed the FAA 2020 ungrounding decision. However, the DC Court of Appeals refused to hear the case, holding the plaintiffs lacked standing because they were not under imminent threat of death and could avoid flying the MAX.
See FlyersRights.org news releases on PRNewswire.com and www.FlyersRights.org for details.
Paul Hudson | President, FlyersRights.org
Member, FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee
