Watchdog to Review FAA Pilot-Training Standards in 737 Max Wake

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Transportation Department’s Inspector General is opening a new review of how regulators decided on pilot-training requirements for Boeing Co.’s grounded 737 Max.

The Inspector General is beginning an audit of domestic and international pilot training standards, it said in a press release Monday. The evaluation was requested by Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

The audit will focus on the Federal Aviation Administration’s process for setting pilot-training standards, the IG said in the release. When the plane was introduced in 2017, the FAA agreed with Boeing that pilots transitioning from the previous generation of 737s didn’t need additional simulator training. It also agreed there didn’t need to be a mention in flight manuals about the safety system linked to both crashes.

In addition, the IG will look at other nations’ approaches to training on cockpit automation, which can be confusing to crews and has been involved in multiple fatal accidents.

The 737 Max has been grounded since March 13, following the second fatal crash involving a system that was automatically driving down the plane’s nose due to a malfunction. The crashes killed 346 people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Levin in Washington at alevin24@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman

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