New York (AFP)

Lack of transparency and information sharing: World aviation authorities should inflict a snub on the US Air Regulator (FAA) which they approve the Boeing 737 MAX, said Monday to AFP a source close to folder.

They are grouped together in a panel, called JATR, set up in April by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) against criticism of its close ties with Boeing.

The FAA was the last authority to ban the flight of the 737 MAX after the crash of a plane of this type of Ethiopian Airlines on March 10, southeast of Addis Ababa, which left 157 dead.

This tragedy occurred a few months after the accident of a 737 MAX of Lion Air which made 189 dead.

The task assigned to this working group was to review the approval procedures of the 737 MAX and make proposals to improve them.

According to the source close to the file, the report, which must be submitted in the coming weeks by this committee, is critical for the FAA.

In particular, it should lambast the lack of transparency in the way the regulator has transferred to Boeing the evaluation of certain systems and software of the MAX, said this source on condition of anonymity.

The panel is expected to conclude that significant changes to the design of the Boeing 737 MAX have not been properly reviewed by the FAA, the source said.

For example, it was Boeing's employees who inspected the MCAS anti-stall system, implicated in accidents, some sources close to the case told AFP some time ago.

The same sources reported collusion between the FAA and Boeing, reinforced by the ODA procedure, adopted in 2005 under pressure from the aviation lobby against a backdrop of deregulation and a drop in the US agency's budget.

According to the ODA, Boeing chose the engineers to inspect its aircraft, the FAA only affixed its seal.

- Simulator test -

The working group is also expected to criticize the FAA for failing to share data with its peers when certifying the MAX in 2017, reports the Wall Street Journal.

JATR brings together the European Union, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Australia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

"We will review all the recommendations and incorporate any proposal that would improve our certification activities," an AFA spokesman told AFP, who has always defended the 737 MAX.

He insisted that the panel's task was "distinct from the ongoing efforts for a safe return to service" of this flagship aircraft.

Contacted by AFP, Boeing had not reacted immediately to the criticism of the panel.

The builder, which set up its own internal committee to evaluate its procedures, simply indicated that it planned to communicate "at the right moment" on the conclusions of this group of five members of its board of directors.

Steve Dickson, the new boss of the FAA, said Monday on the CNBC television that he was going to Seattle this week to test the 737 MAX simulator.

He also said that Boeing had still not submitted all the requested changes for the FAA to rule on lifting the ban.

"Safety first and we have no specific timetable" in mind, he said, while there are differences among global regulators on the criteria for determining the 737 return to the skies. MAX.

The Europeans have already indicated that they would inspect the aircraft themselves and, like the Canadians, they want the pilot training to include the simulator.

The FAA judge, it, that training on iPad or computer runners in the 737 NG, version preceding the MAX, is sufficient.

© 2019 AFP