WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General said on Tuesday it will audit the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) November decision to unground the Boeing 737 MAX and other agency decisions.
The 737 MAX was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia within five months killed 346 people. The FAA approved its return to service after significant safety enhancements developed during the plane’s 20-month grounding.
The new audit will examine the FAA’s actions following the two accidents, including the agency’s risk assessments, the grounding of the aircraft and the subsequent recertification, the inspector general’s office said. Boeing declined to comment.
