The US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has released its final report on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

The 238-page report concludes the Committee’s 18-month-long investigation of the design, development, and certification of the 737 MAX and other associated matters.

It was released by House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chair Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and the subcommittee on Aviation chair Rick Larsen (D-WA).

Prepared by Congress’ majority staff, the report detailed ‘serious flaws and missteps’ in the design development and approval of the 737 Max.

It blamed Boeing for a ‘culture of concealment’ and said the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was ‘fundamentally flawed’.

Competing with Airbus’ new A320neo aircraft, Boeing is also blamed for prioritising profits over safety and detailed ‘disturbing cultural issues’.

DeFazio said: “Our report lays out disturbing revelations about how Boeing – under pressure to compete with Airbus and deliver profits for Wall Street – escaped scrutiny from the FAA, withheld critical information from pilots, and ultimately put planes into service that killed 346 innocent people.

“What’s particularly infuriating is how Boeing and FAA both gambled with public safety in the critical time period between the two crashes.

“On behalf of the families of the victims of both crashes, as well as anyone who steps on a plane expecting to arrive at their destination safely, we are making this report public to put a spotlight not only on the broken safety culture at Boeing but also the gaps in the regulatory system at the FAA that allowed this fatally-flawed plane into service.

“Critically, our report gives Congress a roadmap on the steps we must take to reinforce aviation safety and regulatory transparency, increase federal oversight, and improve corporate accountability to help ensure the story of the Boeing 737 MAX is never, ever repeated.”

In March 2019, Boeing temporarily suspended the operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that resulted in the deaths of 346 people.