Boeing has provided a fresh batch of incriminating documents on the 737 MAX to regulators and congressional investigators, only hours after announcing a leadership shakeup.
The document dump came just before Christmas, when many officials already are on holiday, and "appear to point to a very disturbing picture" about Boeing's response to safety issues regarding the 737 MAX, a congressional aide said.
The aide said Boeing sent the documents "late in the evening" Monday to congressional staff investigating the issues with the aircraft, which has been grounded since March following two crashes that killed 346 people.
The aerospace giant has faced scrutiny over its decision to keep flying the plane after the first crash and to brush off safety concerns of some employees, and over whether it sacrificed safety in the race to develop a plane to compete with an Airbus jet.
US regulators also have been criticized for a too-cozy relationship with the company it is charged with overseeing.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it received what appear to be the same documents Monday afternoon, a few hours after Boeing ousted Dennis Muilenburg as chief executive amid his much-criticized handling of MAX crisis.
Boeing said it "proactively" contacted the FAA and Congress "as part of our commitment to transparency," a company spokesman said in email.
"As with prior documents referenced by the committee, the tone and content of some of these communications does not reflect the company we are and need to be."
The document dump -- which surfaced on a normally tranquil Christmas Eve -- came hours after Boeing announced it was replacing Muilenburg with Chairman David Calhoun, saying the company needed to "restore confidence" and "repair relationships with regulators, customers and all other stakeholders."
DeFazio on Monday called Muilenburg's ouster "long overdue," and said the company "made a number of devastating decisions that suggest profit took priority over safety."
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