- A statement from the Wall Street Journal
- How many people were killed in the crashes
A test pilot for Boeing will reportedly be hit with criminal charges over allegations that he misled aviation regulators about safety issues behind two 737 Max plane crashes, which left a combined 346 people dead. Mark Forkner served as the chief technical pilot during the aircraft’s development, a role that required he act as lead contact with the Federal Aviation Administration for how airline pilots should be trained to fly the new jet.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, citing anonymous sources, reported Forkner could face criminal prosecution “in the coming weeks,” marking what could be “the first attempt to hold a Boeing employee accountable” for conduct leading up to the pair of tragic crashes.
The first occurred in Indonesia on Oct. 29, 2018. All 189 passengers and crew were killed when the Lion Air jet crashed into the Java Sea only 13 minutes after takeoff from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. It was also the first major incident involving the jet, which was introduced the year prior in 2017.
