Employees of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned as early as seven years ago that Boeing Co. had too much sway over safety approvals of new aircraft, prompting an investigation by Department of Transportation auditors who confirmed the agency hadn't done enough to "hold Boeing accountable."
The 2012 investigation also found that discord over Boeing's treatment had created a "negative work environment" among Federal Aviation Administration employees who approve new and modified aircraft designs, with many of them saying they'd faced retaliation for speaking up. Their concerns predated the 737 Max development.
On Sunday night, a person familiar with the 737 Max said the Transportation Department's Inspector General was examining the plane's design certification before the second of two deadly crashes of the almost brand-new aircraft. Earlier Sunday, Ethiopia's transport minister said flight-data recorders show "clear similarities" between the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10 and Lion Air Flight 610 last October.