Former Boeing pilot charged with fraud in connection with 737 Max investigation

[FriskyCanuck]

Former Boeing pilot charged with fraud in connection with 737 Max investigation

Former Boeing chief technical pilot Mark Forkner has been indicted on six counts of fraud in connection with the investigation of the FAA's evaluation and certification of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

www.flightglobal.com

Former Boeing chief technical pilot Mark Forkner has been indicted on six counts of fraud in connection with the investigation of the FAA's evaluation and certification of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) says on 14 October that a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas has charged Forkner with lying to the FAA and "scheming to defraud Boeing's US-based airline customers to obtain tens of millions of dollars for Boeing".

He has been charged with two counts of "fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate commerce" and four counts of wire fraud, crimes that carry a penalty of between 10 and 20 years in prison each. He is expected in court in Fort Worth, Texas on 15 October.

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"Forkner allegedly abused his position of trust by intentionally withholding critical information about MCAS during the FAA evaluation and certification of the 737 Max and from Boeing's US‑based airline customers," says assistant attorney general Kenneth Polite Jr. of the DOJ's criminal division. "In doing so, he deprived airlines and pilots from knowing crucial information about an important part of the airplane's flight controls."

Forkner led Boeing's 737 Max flight technical team at the time the aircraft was being developed and marketed. The DOJ says that his deception led to deletion of information about MCAS from the final version of the 737 Max Flight Standardization Board (FSB) report. He therefore showed "blatant disregard for his responsibilities and the safety of airline customers and crews", DOJ says.

"As a result, pilots flying the 737 Max for Boeing's US‑based airline customers were not provided any information about MCAS in their manuals and training materials. Forkner sent copies of the 737 Max FSB Report to Boeing's US-based 737 Max airline customers, but withheld from these customers important information about MCAS and the 737 MAX FSB Report evaluation process," DOJ adds.

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Someone is being held accountable at least.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

What a scumbag. He is responsible for those passenger deaths.

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

The article doesn't really make clear the reason why he might want to perpetrate this fraud; withholding specific MCAS parameters caused the FAA and airlines to allow pilots who were already flying 737's to be cleared to fly the 737 Max without additional simulator training and deliver on one of Boeing's sales pitches.


Truly evil, despicable stuff.

 

[Deleted member 14568]

the executives who presided over this fuck up(understatement) should also be charged

 

[Imaginary_Number]

Many more executives above him should be charged as well, but it pleases me greatly that he specifically is being singled out. I remember reading the committee report when it came out, and this section was exceptionally damning:

In December 2017, Mr. Forkner informed a colleague in an instant message exchange
that he made a foreign airline "feel stupid about trying to require any additional training
requirements." "… I just jedi mind tricked this [sic] fools," Mr. Forkner wrote. "I should
be given $1000 every time I take one of these calls," he said, and then added "I save this
company a sick amount of $$$$"

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[GameAddict411]

He deserves to be prosecuted, but remember that there are people above him who were definitely in the know about this or even encouraged it or even planned for this.

 

[OtterX]

Impossible he acted alone or is the only one responsible.

 

[Mechaplum]

Impossible he acted alone or is the only one responsible.

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Yeah, smells like a scapegoat.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Yeah, smells like a scapegoat.

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Yup. No doubt more knew about this and possibly even directed staff to do just that.

 

[Nobleman Swerve]

Yeah, smells like a scapegoat.

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Getting flashbacks to the 'rogue engineers' VW was blathering about during dieselgate. This kind of rot always starts at the head.

 

[Ra]

This indictment has to be to get him to flip on those above him. There's no way they pain him as a rogue actor who wasn't doing this at the behest of his superiors.

…..Right?

 

[Mechaplum]

Getting flashbacks to the 'rogue engineers' VW was blathering about during dieselgate. This kind of rot always starts at the head.

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That was the stupidest tactic imaginable.

 

[Banderdash]

Are they also doing something about the FAA relying on reports from manufacturers instead of doing independent certification and testing?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

So he's the fall guy.

Ok.

Forgive me if just *one person* who is not an executive going to jail leaves me unimpressed.

 

[TaySan]

I hope this will eventually lead to higher ups getting charges too.

 

[mAcOdIn]

So he's the fall guy.

Ok.

Forgive me if just *one person* who is not an executive going to jail leaves me unimpressed.

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I dunno, I think they're aiming higher than this guy to be honest.

I don't think Boeing nor the government needed a fall guy. I think, unfortunately, since the accidents were outside the US there's very little domestic internal pressure to put the screws to Boeing. Boeing itself already settled with the government. So I think it actually bodes well for an impartial trial and investigation that they're still looking at going after people criminally.

Of course I could be reading the situation wrong but that's my take.

 

[jelly]

It could be he was trying to climb the greasey pole for a better job but I doubt execs were oblivious to what was happening. Whether you can prove is another matter.

 

[Mivey]

So he's the fall guy.

Ok.

Forgive me if just *one person* who is not an executive going to jail leaves me unimpressed.

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No, no, you are getting this wrong. It turns out Boeing execs were completely good and innocent. It just this one former pilots reign of terror that caused them to behave as they did. Now that this villain is defated, I'm sure Boeing will be a more much profitable, sorry, I mean, ethical company from now on.

 

[ryodi]

It's all wrapped up quite nicely for the Boeing execs and the lead prosecutor got a new job as well.

 

[mAcOdIn]

It's all wrapped up quite nicely for the Boeing execs and the lead prosecutor got a new job as well.

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That agreement though only protects the company, not individuals in the company. In theory, because they may just go after this one guy and his lackey, if the guy were to flip on higher-ups(apparently he didn't during the earlier investigation) those people could still be held criminally liable. Fingers crossed.

Of course I wouldn't be surprised if they just settle for this guy and leave everyone else alone either.

 

[SilentPanda]

He's 'Just A Fall Guy': Victims' Families Demand More from Prosecutors after Indictment of Technical Pilot in Deadly Boeing 737 MAX Crashes

A federal grand jury has indicted a former Boeing chief technical pilot for allegedly deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during a U.S. government evaluation of the flight controls on the Boeing 737 MAX — the model of aircraft that twice crashed overseas and killed hundreds.

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"The tragic loss of 157 lives could have been prevented had Mark Forkner spoken up but he certainly didn't act alone," said Robert A. Clifford, the Chicago-based lead counsel on the Ethiopia air disaster.

Clifford then heaved criticism up the corporate ladder at Boeing.

"This inexcusable type of corporate greed goes far beyond the chief pilot at the company that haphazardly made these aircraft in an effort to increase profits," Clifford said in a statement to Law&Crime. "As Lead Counsel in the litigation against Boeing and speaking on behalf of so many families who will never be the same, I implore the DOJ to go further in its criminal investigation and indictments to determine just how far the deception went and who was at the bottom of it all. I think they will find many corporate officials took part in withholding critical information from the certifying agency. A deep-dive criminal investigation is owed to these families who gave the ultimate sacrifice and to the flying public that continues to buy tickets on the MAX aircraft."

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The mother and father of crash victim Samya Rose Stumo similarly lashed out at Boeing in a subsequent statement provided by Clifford's firm.

"Forkner is just a fall guy. He and Boeing are responsible for the deaths of everyone who died in the Max crashes," said Samya's mother Nadia Milleron. "The system within Boeing rewarded short term financial gain over safety, and Mark Forkner was operating within that system. Prosecutors can and should find quite a few other people who were also responsible for causing the crashes. Every single family who lost someone in the Max crash feels the same way: the executives and board of directors of Boeing need to go to jail."

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Michael Stumo, Samya's father, railed against a DOJ deal to defer prosecution against Boeing itself.

"The Deferred Prosecution Agreement was really a DOJ Boeing 'Don't Prosecute Agreement.' Nobody really believes that Forkner was the only bad actor in this complex pressure for profits, and the scheme to defraud the FAA," Stumo said in part.

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He's 'Just A Fall Guy': Victims' Families Demand More from Prosecutors after Indictment of Technical Pilot in Deadly Boeing 737 MAX Crashes

According to a grand jury indictment in the Northern District of Texas, former Boeig Chief Technical Pilot Mark A. Forkner, 49, formerly of Washington State and currently of Keller, Texas, is accused of deceiving the FAA's Aircraft Evaluation Group during its certification procedures for the...

lawandcrime.com

 

[BolognaOni]

One of the best pieces of advice I got early in my engineering career was "No one can make you sign it, but if you do sign it, you better mean it, because your ass is the one going to jail. If your boss says, or implies sign it or quit, you quit."

No sympathy for this guy, but also no respect for the prosecutors pumping this up like it's a big deal to knock down the fall guy.

 

[Deleted member 14568]

He's 'Just A Fall Guy': Victims' Families Demand More from Prosecutors after Indictment of Technical Pilot in Deadly Boeing 737 MAX Crashes

He's 'Just A Fall Guy': Victims' Families Demand More from Prosecutors after Indictment of Technical Pilot in Deadly Boeing 737 MAX Crashes

According to a grand jury indictment in the Northern District of Texas, former Boeig Chief Technical Pilot Mark A. Forkner, 49, formerly of Washington State and currently of Keller, Texas, is accused of deceiving the FAA's Aircraft Evaluation Group during its certification procedures for the...

lawandcrime.com

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they're right but sadly the people on top will never be prosecuted for this

 

[ryodi]

He was found not guilty

Ex-Boeing test pilot found not guilty of deceiving FAA over 737 Max jets

A jury in federal district court in Texas deliberated less than two hours before finding Mark Forkner not guilty on four counts of wire fraud.

www.nbcnews.com

FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Boeing Co. test pilot was acquitted Wednesday on felony charges of deceiving federal regulators about a key flight-control system that played a role in two deadly crashes involving 737 Max jets.

A jury in federal district court in Fort Worth deliberated less than two hours before finding Mark Forkner not guilty on four counts of wire fraud.

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All the 737 Max debacle has cost Boeing is money.