Boeing’s Legal Woes & Flawed Inspections: Law360 Interviews Managing Partner Mike Slack

Boeing’s testimony before the Senate and House has fueled more questions regarding the company’s engineering and developing process, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) certification process after two fatal crashes involving the 737 Max aircraft. In an interview with Law360, Managing Partner Mike Slack discusses his concerns about the company’s flawed vetting process.
 
“It raises the question of whether Boeing betrayed the certification system in order to utilize the supplemental type certificate to speed up the certification, and spend less money in lieu of doing it the correct and technically appropriate way, which is with a new type certificate,” said Slack.
 
The Joint Authorities Technical Review (JART) report outlined and revealed the maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) lacked safety margins and features – risking the lives of passengers and pilots. With Boeing’s software testing plan deemed problematic, this leaves stakeholders and the public unsure about Boeing’s recent proposed changes to the 737 Max. 
 
“There are so many troubling questions that remain that the hearings did not answer,” added Slack. “What was the underlying problem that prompted the need for the aggressive MCAS in the first place?”
 
Read the Law360 article here. (Subscriber-view only)