Report Unveiled At House Transportation Committee Hearing Wednesday

An FAA document released Wednesday during a House Transportation Committee hearing shows that the Boeing 737 MAX is at a high risk for accidents. The agency predicted after the Lion Air accident that there would be more than 15 additional fatal accidents over the airplane's lifetime, according to the document.

CNN reports that the Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) accused the FAA of rolling the dice "on the safety of the traveling public."

But FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson (pictured), who was named to the post long after the report was generated, said that the decision-making process for the 737 MAX is "data driven."

"With all due respect, any indication that any level of accidents are acceptable is not reflective of the 45,000 dedicated professionals at the FAA," Dickson said.

The U.S. House of Representatives is investigating the relationship between the FAA and aircraft manufacturers as it pertains to certification issues. In his testimony, Dickson insisted that the system "is not broken", but admitted that procedures "need to be improved each and every day."

Prior to his appearance before the committee Wednesday, Dickson said in an interview on CNBC that he thinks the grounding of the 737 MAX will "extend into 2020', saying that there are at least 10 more steps that must be accomplished before the airplane can reenter service.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report