The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Texas has charged a former technical pilot at Boeing with deceiving federal regulators during the development of the American aircraft manufacturer's 737 Max, which was grounded due to two fatal accidents.
The Justice Department stated that 49-year-old Mark A. Forkner was charged with misleading the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding training materials related to a flight control system, which was a primary cause in the two separate crashes. Prosecutors allege that Forkner provided the federal agency with "materially false, inaccurate, and incomplete" information about a new part of the aircraft's flight controls: a maneuvering characteristics augmentation system known as MCAS.
The indictment claimed that Forkner could have informed the FAA about the change in the system at that stage, but instead "concealed this fact." Months later, Forkner allegedly recommended that no mention of the new system be included in an FAA report that detailed the amount of training pilots would need to operate the new aircraft.
Prosecutors stated that as a result of the alleged deceit, FAA training specialists, pilot guides, and training materials lacked any reference to the system. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. said in a statement that Forkner "abused his trusted position by intentionally withholding crucial information about the MCAS." He added that such actions deprived airlines and pilots of important information regarding a key aircraft control component.
FBI Assistant Director Calvin Shivers stated, "Forkner is alleged to have concealed important information about the Boeing 737 Max and deceived the FAA, demonstrating a blatant disregard for his responsibilities and the safety of airline customers and crews." He continued, "The FBI will continue to hold individuals like Forkner accountable for fraudulent actions that undermine public safety."
Two aircraft operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Indonesia's Lion Air, both Boeing 737 Max models, crashed in 2018 and 2019, resulting in the deaths of 346 people. Investigations attributed the crashes to defects in the MCAS, which caused the nose of the aircraft to pitch down unexpectedly without pilot warning, leading to the crashes.
The two incidents resulted in a nearly two-year global fleet grounding and created the most severe corporate crisis in Boeing's history, while the FAA approved the return of the aircraft to service late last year.
