DOT investigating FAA role in approving 737 MAX planes

The U.S. Department of Transportation is probing the role of the Federal Aviation Administration in its certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes.

It comes as increased scrutiny falls on the federal regulator over it cozy relationships with airlines and with Boeing itself.

The Wall Street Journal reports the investigation will center on the FAA Seattle office that certifies safety of new aircraft models.

The FAA relies on workers of aircraft manufacturers to complete government-mandated safety inspections, which critics say is a conflict of interest.

FAA officials don’t even understand all the technical details of the MAX jets and simply rely on Boeing to ensure they are safe and in working order.

"The FAA readily states they don’t understand the four million lines of code and the 150 computers. What they do is see that Boeing followed the process, they checked the FAA boxes. The public thinks the FAA has more involvement," said Mary Schiavo, a former DOT inspector general.

Democratic Rep. Peter A. DeFazio said Congress will hold a hearing on how the FAA approves a new aircraft model for safety and to what extent FAA inspectors are involved in this.