On Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) met with the parents of a woman who died in the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines plane crash before questioning the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration about pilot training and the future of the Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane.
Stanton, a member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, offered his condolences to the parents of Samya Stumo, who died when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed. The three met just before the House Aviation Subcommittee held a hearing on the status of the Boeing 737 Max 8, the plane involved in that crash and a Lion Air crash last Oct. 29.
Stumo's parents, Nadia Milleron and Michael Stumo, attended the hearing in Washington, D.C. Milleron held a sign illustrating the number of people who lost their lives in the two crashes.
The FAA grounded the Boeing 737 Max 8 in March after data showed similarities between the Ethiopian Air and Lion Air crashes. Preliminary reports indicate that in both instances, a faulty angle of attack sensor triggered the plane's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, whose software is designed to prevent the aircraft from stalling by pointing the nose of the plane down.
The FAA has been under scrutiny for how it handled the certification process for the new Boeing aircraft.
During the hearing, Stanton asked acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell, a former combat and commercial pilot, whether the FAA should have mandated training on the MCAS system.
"At the beginning, when I first heard this, I thought that the MCAS should have been more adequately explained in the ops manual and the flight manual, absolutely," Elwell said.
Stanton also asked when the FAA expected to receive a proposed fix from Boeing.
"We are expecting the formal application of the MCAS update soon," Elwell said.
Elwell gave no date for the aircraft to fly again.
"The 737 Max will return to service for U.S. carriers and in U.S. airspace only when the FAA’s analysis of the facts and technical data indicate that it is safe to do so," he said.
Agencies investigating the Boeing 737 Max 8
The House Aviation Subcommittee is not the only part of the federal government investigating the Boeing 737 Max 8. Here are other government agencies looking into issues related to the plane:
- An audit by the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation of the certification of the Boeing 737 Max 8
- Joint Authorities Technical Review Committee, comprising experts from nine civil aviation authorities worldwide, including the FAA and NASA, which will review the certification of the automated flight control system.
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
- Department of Transportation's Special Committee to Review Aircraft Certification.
- Multi-agency Technical Advisory Board consisting of the U.S. Air Force, NASA, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and the FAA, which will review the proposed technical solutions.