[apnews.com]

DALLAS (AP) — A former Boeing pilot was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of deceiving safety regulators about the 737 Max jetliner, which was later involved in two deadly crashes.

The indictment charges Mark A. Forkner with giving the Federal Aviation Administration false and incomplete information about an automated flight-control system that played a role in the crashes, which killed 346 people.

Prosecutors said that because of Forkner’s alleged deception, the system was not mentioned in pilot manuals or training materials.

An attorney for Forkner did not immediately respond for comment. Boeing and the FAA declined to comment.

Forkner, 49, was charged with two counts of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate commerce and four counts of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors said he is expected to make his first appearance in court on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. If convicted on all counts, he could face a sentence of up to 100 years in prison.

The indictment charges that he hid information about a flight-control system that activated erroneously and pushed down the noses of Max jets that crashed in 2018 in Indonesia, and 2019 in Ethiopia. The pilots tried unsuccessfully to regain control, but both planes went into nosedives minutes after taking off.

Forkner was Boeing’s chief technical pilot on the Max program. Prosecutors said that Forkner learned about an important change to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System flight-control system in 2016, but withheld the information from the FAA. That led the agency to delete reference to MCAS from a technical report and, in turn, it didn’t appear in pilot manuals. Most pilots didn’t know about MCAS until after the first crash.

Prosecutors suggested that Forkner downplayed the power of the system to avoid a requirement that pilots undergo extensive and expensive retraining, which would increase training costs for airlines. Congressional investigators suggested additional training would have added $1 million to the price of each plane.

“In an attempt to save Boeing money, Forkner allegedly withheld critical information from regulators,” said Chad Meacham, acting U.S. attorney for the northern district of Texas. “His callous choice to mislead the FAA hampered the agency’s ability to protect the flying public and left pilots in the lurch, lacking information about certain 737 MAX flight controls.”

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

A pilot? Wow. Fall guy for sure.

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FIVE STAGES OF A PROJECT
Stage One
Excitement, Euphoria
Stage Two
Disenchantment
Stage Three
Search for the Guilty
Stage Four
Punishment of the Innocent
Stage Five
Distinction for the Uninvolved

I think we're at stage 4, though I don't think this guy is totally innocent, but he is definitely a sacrificial lamb.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Right. 100% of all of it is just this one guy....

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“A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand.” Seneca the Younger

The police have no duty to respond. See Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005) or Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981)

Judge Lee wrote that “we cannot jettison our constitutional rights, even if the goal behind a law is laudable." 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

[www.youtube.com]

What a den of vipers….

Forkner was Boeing’s chief technical pilot on the Max program.
Actually, Forkner was the CTP for Boeing's entire 737 division. In reality,
that's a corporate position, not just a simple "pilot".
"Follow the money!"

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2021 05:25AM by MrNoBody.

Hardly a fall guy. He lied to the FAA and about 350 people died in 2 plane crashes.
Boeings CEO was canned shortly after he testified to Congress about the MAX.
Watch the video at the link. Very informative.
[www.youtube.com]

He didn't act alone, but he's not innocent either. My guess is that people above him didn't understand the ramifications of what he was saying/doing but they were directing him to find ways to cut costs/boost profits. He delivered, they accepted/tolerated, and chaos ensued.

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....Lee Majors will always be the Fall Guy.....to me......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!