[echappist]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

I feel like the pros at the FAA would ground this plane if they thought it was the right thing to do. I am sure they are somewhat hesitant, as I would be.

I'm more concerned about the AOA sensor failure rate. An airframe I used to work on would crash if the AOA sensor went out. I can't imagine too many companies make them.

the overly cozy relationship btwn industry and FAA would cast doubts as to if that were truly the case. Also, who are these said "pros"? from the following, emphases added

For decades, the F.A.A. has used a network of outside experts, known as F.A.A. designees, to certify that aircraft meet safety standards. In 2005, the regulator shifted its approach for how it delegated authority outside the agency, creating a new program through which aircraft manufacturers like Boeing could choose their own employees to be the designees and help certify their planes.

The program is intended to help the F.A.A. stretch its limited resources, while also benefiting plane makers who are eager to avoid delays in the certification process.

The regulator maintains offices inside Boeing’s factories, including those in Renton, Wash., and in Charleston, S.C. “I’ve raised this concern in the past, about people who go to work at the Boeing plant who work for the F.A.A.,” said Representative Peter A. DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon and the chairman of the House transportation committee. “How much scrutiny are they applying, and could they be influenced?”

The F.A.A.’s top safety official, Ali Bahrami, has worked closely with Boeing during his career, directing the agency’s certification of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the 747-8 passenger and freighter models.

“It’s a very cozy relationship,” said Jim Hall, the former head of the National Transportation Safety Board. “The manufacturer essentially becomes both the manufacturer and the regulator, because of the lack of the ability of government to do the job.”

At a congressional hearing in 2015, a Boeing executive described the arrangement as effectively having an “arm of the F.A.A. within the Boeing Company,” and said 1,000 employees were part of the program.

The regulatory policy of allowing manufacturers to essentially sign off on the safety of their own products has drawn criticism in the past. In 2011, a report from the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General found that the “F.A.A. has significantly reduced its role in approving individuals who perform work on F.A.A.’s behalf by further delegating this approval to private companies.”