DALLAS (AP), A Boeing pilot who participated in the testing of the 737 Max jetliner was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday for deceiving safety regulators while evaluating the plane. The plane was then involved in two fatal crashes.
Indictment charges Mark A. Forkner with providing false and incomplete information to the Federal Aviation Administration about an automated flight control system that was involved in the fatalities of 346 people.
Prosecutors claimed that Forkner's deception caused the system to be absent from key FAA documents, manuals and pilot-training materials supplied to airlines.
Max jets that crashed in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 were automatically brought down by the flight-control system. Pilots attempted unsuccessfully to regain control but both planes crashed within minutes of taking off.
Most pilots didn't know about the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System until the first crash.
Forkner, 49 was charged with two counts fraud involving parts of aircraft in interstate commerce as well as four counts of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors stated that Forkner will make his first court appearance on Friday in Fort Worth. He could be sentenced to up to 100 years imprisonment if he is convicted of all charges.
Boeing created the Max to be an improved version of its venerable 737, which could compete with Airbus' European rival. The Max was designed to fly like other 737s, despite the tendency of the nose to tip upwards in certain circumstances.
The Congressional Investigators suggested that Boeing and Forkner downplayed power to avoid the requirement that pilots undergo expensive and extensive retraining. This would increase airline costs.
Chad Meacham was the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. He stated that Forkner tried saving Boeing money by withholding crucial information from regulators.
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Meacham stated in a statement that Meacham's foolishness in misleading the FAA hampered its ability to protect the flying public. Pilots were left in the dark, without information about certain 737 MAX flight control systems.
Boeing, based in Chicago, agreed to a $2.5B settlement to end a Justice Department investigation into its actions. In the last year's settlement, Boeing stated that its employees had misled regulators regarding the safety of Max. The settlement provided compensation for the families of those who were killed in the crashes and money for airlines that purchased the plane.
Boeing is being sued by dozens of passenger families in Chicago federal court.
