It is an investigation into one of the most incidents in aviation history that is being played out. Mark Forkner, 49, has been indicted by US justice for his role in two deadly crashes. The former Boeing pilot allegedly misled the United States Aviation Regulator (FAA) during the 737 MAX certification process, by providing false or incomplete information about MCAS, a software purported to prevent the plane to dive.
The FAA therefore did not require pilot training in MCAS and approved the 737 Max in March 2017. In October 2018, a Lion Air aircraft crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. . A few months later, an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed, killing 157 people. All the 737 Max had been grounded in the wake, in March 2019.
During the two incidents, the MCAS got carried away on the basis of erroneous information transmitted by one of the two probes of the device. It was only in October 2018, after the first crash, that the FAA learned of “key details” about the software.
“Basically, that means I lied to the regulators”
The investigation was then able to move forward following the recognition in January of Boeing of manipulation by the authorities. The aeronautic giant accepted the payment of 2.5 billion dollars to settle certain lawsuits and gave the names of two responsible employees. Including Mark Forkner, the first individual to be prosecuted personally in this case.
According to prosecution documents, the former pilot discovered in 2016 an important change made to the MCAS. In a message to a colleague revealed in 2019, he notably indicated that the software made the plane difficult to fly in a simulator. But he had deliberately decided not to mention it to the FAA. “Basically, that means I lied to the regulators,” Mark Forkner boasted to his colleague. Theoretically, he risks up to 100 years in prison.
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