BA Boeing Co

   By Robert Wall 
 

Europe's main pilots union on Thursday raised questions about Boeing Co.'s (BA) 737 MAX plane ahead of a gathering of regulators from around the world who are meeting to discuss how to return the jetliner to service after it was grounded in the wake of two fatal crashes.

"What has been revealed is an oversight and regulatory setup that leaves pilots' trust and confidence severely undermined," said Jon Horne, president of the European Cockpit Association.

"Boeing essentially built a plane to a wish list that would sell well--meeting attractive fuel, cost and performance metrics, with minimal additional pilot training requirements," he said. "It seems there was no independent regulator to look at this in-depth from a safety perspective and scrutinize what appears to be a design philosophy driven by commercial priorities."

Boeing and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the plane's principal regulator, have defended the process to approve the MAX as safe to fly in 2017. The crash of a MAX in October and another crash five months later caused regulators around the globe to idle the fleet over safety concerns. Boeing has been working on a fix to a flight-control system flaw implicated in the two disasters that killed all 346 people on the two planes--one in Indonesia and the other Ethiopia.

Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell has said it is unclear when the MAX will be allowed to fly again.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which grounded the plane in Europe, has said it will work with the FAA to approve the fix, but will also undertake an independent review of the MAX, highlighting the fissures that have emerged among regulators over the issue.

EASA must perform its own scrutiny, Mr. Horne has said, "simply accepting the FAA's word on the MAX's safety won't be enough."

The split among regulators has raised concern among airline and aerospace officials. Airbus SE (AIR.FR) Chief Executive Guillaume Faury last week said it is important for regulators to work together, and said their history of doing so has elevated air safety.

"We need this alignment and this joint understanding on how to develop and certify planes to remain," he said.

Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2019 08:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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