FAA Received Whistleblower Calls from Boeing Employees After Second 737 MAX Crash
CNN is reporting that after the crash of Ethiopian Air flight 302 in March, the second deadly crash involving Boeing's 737 MAX in less than six months, the FAA received a number of calls to its whistleblower hotline from Boeing employees about the aircraft.
The complaints were related to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) as well as issues with the actual angle of attack sensor itself. "Among the complaints is a previously unreported issue involving damage to the wiring of the angle of attack sensor by a foreign object," according to a CNN source. "Other reports by the whistleblowers involve concerns about the MCAS control cut-out switches, which disengage the MCAS software." Foreign Object Debris or FOD has been something of a sore spot for Boeing in the recent months.
The FAA told CNN that it "may be opening up an entirely new investigative angle into what went wrong in the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max commercial airliners." The FAA confirmed to TPG via email that it "received four safety hotline calls after the aircraft had already been grounded. The allegations are under investigation and have not been officially substantiated."
Boeing executives said returning the company's troubled 737 MAX to the sky is a "top priority" and pledged to commit all the resources needed to make that happen. The jet was grounded by regulators around the world in March following the second of the two deadly crashes that raised safety concerns about the MAX and shook travelers' confidence in the aircraft.
Boeing did not responded to TPG's request for comment by the time of publication.
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Featured Photo by Boeing
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

