Watchdog Faults FAA For 'Significant Misunderstanding' Of Flight System

The Federal Aviation Administration must address "weaknesses" in its oversight of Boeing that led the agency to miss flaws that contributed to two deadly crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, a federal watchdog has found.

An inspector general's report from the Department of Transportation said U.S. aviation regulators do not understand the plane's flight control software that caused two devastating crashes in 2018 and 2019.

A Lion Air flight crashed off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018, killing all 189 passengers and crew members. A second crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane occurred in March 2019, killing all 157 people on board.

The 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years. Boeing has since redesigned the aircraft, and the FAA has certified it to return to the skies. But the inspector general concluded the FAA's approach to analyzing the integration of new technology to existing aircraft designs must be improved.

The 63-page report released Wednesday is the product of a review ordered by former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.