This archive report was first published on 10 January 2020.
On January 10, 2020, Boeing released a trove of internal messages that show employees mocking US aviation regulators and bragging about getting the 737 MAX plane certified with minimal pilot training.
The messages, which date back to 2015, include employees making derogatory comments about the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and boasting about their ability to get the plane certified with minimal training for pilots.
One employee wrote in a message from 2018: "I still haven't been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year," in reference to dealing with the FAA.
Another employee wrote in August 2015: "This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys," apparently in reference to the FAA.
Boeing said in a statement that some of the communications relate to the development and qualification of Boeing's MAX simulators in 2017 and 2018.
The mocking tone of the messages is yet another embarrassment for Boeing amid the 737 MAX crisis and worsens its already rocky relations with the FAA.
Probes of the two crashes have focused in particular on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, an automated flight control system. Boeing is now working on changes to that system demanded by the FAA.
Boeing's 737 MAX plane has been grounded worldwide since March 13, 2019.
