Special Commission to Probe FAA Approvals After 737 Max Crashes

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Transportation Department is creating a special commission to review how newly designed aircraft are certified, a response to criticisms that have arisen following the grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max.

The commission will evaluate how the Federal Aviation Administration oversees the process of reviewing and approving new plane models, including the government’s growing use of employees of manufacturers to sign off on designs.

“Safety is the number one priority of the Department, and this review by leading outside experts will help determine if improvements can be made to the FAA aircraft certification process,” DOT Secretary Elaine Chao said in a statement.

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The latest review comes as a criminal investigation led by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and an audit of the 737 Max’s approval are also underway. The Senate is also holding a hearing Wednesday to review aviation safety in the wake of the two crashes.

Two 737 Max 8 jets have crashed since Oct. 29. In the first one in Indonesia, a safety system on the plane was continually trying to dive the plane as a result of a malfunction. The plane that crashed in Ethiopia on March 10 behaved similarly, according to local officials, but few details about the investigation have been released.

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