An aid to a U.S. House committee revealed that new exchanges between Boeing employees and the American aircraft giant regarding concerns on the 737 Max jet's production have emerged.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the new details have been forwarded to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a review on the troubled plane's systems has yet to be completed.
A source with knowledge of the documents' content further revealed that some of the concerns were raised by the same former pilot whose complaints in 2016 were unveiled just a few months back. Bloomberg first reported on this story.
No specific details about the documents and messages have been revealed just yet but a House committee aid said the new revelation is "similar" to the details previously disclosed by Boeing.
The aid noted that "the records appear to point to a very disturbing picture of both concerns expressed by Boeing employees" on the company's safety measures, especially with the 737 Max.
On the other hand, Boeing said in a statement that it forwarded the content of the messages to both the FAA and the U.S. Congress as part of its efforts to express safety commitment and transparency.
Despite its apparent willingness at this point to fully cooperate with regulators and the U.S. government, it is worth noting that this is not the first time Boeing failed to relay critical information to the authorities.
The former Boeing pilot's concerns on the 737 Max manufacturing process were aired in 2016, almost two years before the Lion Air crashed and killed all passengers. The said concerns were also present before the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March.
Shortly after the former pilot's messages were unveiled in October, the FAA said it was "disappointed" in the manufacturer's failure to let the agency know immediately about the pilot's concerns.
The emergence of the emails between Boeing employees and the company came on the same day the aircraft behemoth finally decided to remove CEO Dennis Muilenburg from his post. Chairman David Calhoun will replace Muilenburg in January.
Meanwhile, Boeing announced on Thursday that senior adviser to the board, Michael Luttig, will retire from his job by year-end, CNBC reported. Luttig's retirement came shortly after Muilenburg's exit earlier this week.
Luttig is recognized for his work during the legal defense of Boeing following the two crashes that took 346 lives in total. He is also often seen in the list of highest paid general counsels for various public companies.
It remains to be seen whether another executive of counsel linked to the aircraft maker will announce retirement or resignations over the next few months, especially since the FAA has yet to recertify the 737 Max jets for flight.
