Trump signed an executive order directing the Transportation Department to slash FAA regulations on rocket launches, eliminating or expediting environmental reviews for commercial spaceflight. The order directly benefits SpaceX, whose owner Elon Musk repeatedly complained about FAA environmental …
Donald TrumpElon MuskSpaceXDepartment of TransportationFederal Aviation Administrationregulatory-captureconflicts-of-interesttech
John Barnett, a 32-year Boeing quality control manager and prominent whistleblower who had raised numerous safety concerns about the 787 Dreamliner, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in his truck in a hotel parking lot in Charleston, South Carolina. He was in Charleston for deposition …
John BarnettBoeingCharleston County CoronerCharleston Police DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration+1 moreboeingwhistleblowerjohn-barnettsuspicious-death787-dreamliner+1 more
A door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, at 16,000 feet during climb six minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. The explosive decompression ripped the door plug from the fuselage, leaving a gaping hole in the aircraft. Miraculously, all 171 passengers and 6 crew …
Alaska AirlinesBoeingSpirit AeroSystemsFederal Aviation AdministrationNational Transportation Safety Board+1 moreboeing737-maxalaska-airlinesdoor-plugmanufacturing-defect+2 more
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released its final 238-page report on the Boeing 737 MAX disasters, concluding that the crashes “were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of …
House Transportation and Infrastructure CommitteeRepresentative Peter DeFazioRepresentative Rick LarsenFederal Aviation AdministrationBoeing+1 moreboeingfaaregulatory-capture737-maxcongressional-investigation+1 more
Boeing released hundreds of internal messages to Congressional investigators and the FAA on January 9, 2020, revealing that employees knew the 737 MAX was unsafe, mocked regulators, and conspired to deceive certification authorities. In one April 2017 exchange, just before the aircraft’s first …
Boeing employeesFederal Aviation AdministrationDepartment of JusticeHouse Transportation CommitteeSenator Richard Blumenthalboeing737-maxinternal-communicationsregulatory-capturefraud+1 more
The Federal Aviation Administration finally grounded the Boeing 737 MAX on March 13, 2019, three days after the Ethiopian Airlines crash and only after 51 other countries had already banned the aircraft. China acted first on March 11, followed by Indonesia, Singapore, India, the European Union, …
Federal Aviation AdministrationBoeingActing FAA Administrator Dan ElwellEuropean Union Aviation Safety AgencyCivil Aviation Administration of China+2 morefaaboeing737-maxregulatory-captureaviation-safety+1 more
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, crashed six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 157 people aboard from 35 countries. The crash was caused by the same MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) malfunction that downed Lion Air Flight 610 five …
Ethiopian AirlinesBoeingFederal Aviation AdministrationMCAS system157 victims from 35 countries+1 moreboeing737-maxmcasethiopian-airlinesaviation-safety+3 more
A fatal aviation disaster revealing critical design flaws in Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. The crash of Lion Air Flight 610 exposed systemic issues in aircraft design, maintenance, and pilot training, resulting from a malfunctioning Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). …
Lion AirBoeingMCAS system189 victimsNational Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC)+1 moreboeing737maxmcaslion-airaviation-safety+3 more
Dan Elwell becomes acting FAA Administrator on January 7, 2018, when Michael Huerta’s five-year term ends, exemplifying the revolving door between aviation regulators and the industry they oversee. Elwell, who had served as Deputy Administrator since June 2017, brought extensive aviation …
Dan ElwellFederal Aviation AdministrationMichael HuertaTransportation Secretary Elaine ChaoBoeing Corporation+7 moreregulatory-capturefaa-leadershipboeing-737-maxrevolving-dooraviation-regulation+1 more
Boeing delivered its first 737 MAX 8 aircraft to Malaysian carrier Malindo Air on May 16, 2017, entering revenue service on May 22. The delivery occurred despite internal Boeing communications showing employees knew the aircraft had serious safety problems, including design flaws in the MCAS system …
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Boeing obtained FAA approval to exclude the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) from pilot manuals, flight crew operations manuals, and all pilot training materials for the 737 MAX. This deliberate concealment meant that pilots flying the aircraft had no knowledge that a powerful …
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) formally establishes the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program, delegating unprecedented safety certification responsibilities to aircraft manufacturers, specifically Boeing. This regulatory capture mechanism expanded the scope of …
Federal Aviation AdministrationBoeing CorporationAircraft manufacturersFAA certification officialsAviation industry lobbyists+2 moreregulatory-capturefaa-boeingself-certificationaviation-safetyinstitutional-capture+1 more
President Ronald Reagan fires 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who refused to return to work, permanently banning them from federal service. When 13,000 PATCO members went on strike August 3 seeking better pay, improved working conditions, and a reduced workweek, Reagan declared the strike a …
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