The new
NY Times article paints a pretty damning picture of the FAA's relationship with Boeing, in general, and a particularly disturbing one with regard to the MAX and MCAS.
Engineers at the agency were demoralized, the two agency employees said. One engineer submitted an anonymous complaint [about the risk of an uncontained engine failure to the rudder cables] to an internal F.A.A. safety board, which was reviewed by The Times.
"During meetings regarding this issue the cost to Boeing to upgrade the design was discussed,” the engineer wrote. “The comment was made that there may be better places for Boeing to spend their safety dollars.”An F.A.A. panel investigated the complaint. It found managers siding with Boeing had created “an environment of mistrust that hampers the ability of the agency to work effectively,” the panel said in a 2017 report, which was reviewed by The Times. The panel cautioned against allowing Boeing to handle this kind of approval, saying “the company has a vested interest in minimizing costs and schedule impact.”
By then, the panel’s findings were moot. Managers at the agency had already given Boeing [rather than the FAA] the right to approve the cables, and they were installed on the Max.
And much more.