certified the 737 Max 8 in 2017, and one concern after the plane’s grounding is the role that Boeing employees played in the certification process. has relied on outside experts known as designees to assist in certifying that aircraft meet safety standards. In 2005, the agency created a program through which manufacturers like Boeing could choose their own employees to act on behalf of the F.A.A. A spokesman for Boeing said the manufacturer will cooperate with the inquiry. That system, known as MCAS, may also have been a factor in the crash in Ethiopia, though the inquiry into that accident is still in the early stages.

Source: New York Times March 19, 2019 19:29 UTC