Boeing’s troubles over the global grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft got compounded over the weekend, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) questioned the US aircraft maker on why it had withheld documentation of employees’ concerns with the software system, which investigators have linked to the two crashes of this variety of aircraft.
The two crashes led to the global grounding of the Boeing MAX fleet.
International media organisations, including CNN and Reuters, have accessed secret mails which Boeing employees had written, voicing concerns about the MAX. They sourced these mails from Congressional sources. The instant messages show internal concerns that the MCAS stabilisation system was "running rampant" and more powerful than the company had told the FAA.
The news saw Boeing’s shares drop by 6 per cent. Boeing is already on record that it is counting on getting approval for its grounded 737 Max to fly again by the end of this year.
Boeing has a backlog of more than 400 planes that have been built but not delivered since the grounding, and it would take several quarters for it to deliver them all to waiting customers, once the 737 MAX receives approval to fly again. Airlines do not want to take possession of too many planes at one time, and Boeing gets the bulk of revenue from the jets only after they are delivered.