Lawmakers rip FAA for not disclosing documents on Boeing Max

The chairman of a Senate committee accused the Federal Aviation Administration of stonewalling lawmakers' attempts to understand how the agency approved a Boeing jet that later suffered two deadly crashes and whether the FAA retaliates against whistle blowers in its ranks.

Roger Wicker, a Republican senator from Mississippi, said Wednesday that the FAA has failed to respond to more than half of his committee's requests for documents, some of them made more than a year ago. The FAA hasn't turned over anything since April, he said.

Wicker said he holds Stephen Dickson, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the FAA, personally responsible for creating an adversarial relationship with Congress.

“It is hard not to conclude your team at the FAA has deliberately attempted to keep us in the dark,” Wicker told Dickson during a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Dickson disputed Wicker's description of the FAA, but he promised “to redouble our efforts” to cooperate with Congress.

The committee's top Democrat, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington — where Boeing builds the long-grounded 737 Max — joined Wicker in criticizing FAA's failure to turn over documents. Other Democrats accused FAA of having a culture of secrecy.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pressed Dickson on whether Boeing lied to the FAA about safety concerns around the Boeing plane. Dickson avoided answering directly whether the Chicago manufacturer lied but agreed that the certification process was flawed.

“The manufacturer made mistakes, and the FAA made mistakes in its oversight of the manufacturer,” Dickson said.

This week, Wicker and Cantwell introduced legislation to revamp the FAA's process for certifying new passenger planes. The bill would not eliminate FAA's decades-long policy of relying on...