FAA failed to properly review 737 MAX: report

The Federal Aviation Administration is under fire Friday, after an international panel of air safety regulators said the U.S. agency failed to properly review Boeing's 737 MAX jet, which was later tied to two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people.

The harshly critical report - obtained by Reuters ahead of its release Friday - was commissioned by the FAA earlier this year to look into how the agency certified the 737 MAX before the crashes.

It concluded in its assessment that the so-called MCAS anti-stall system was not evaluated as a complete and integrated function of the jet, and that the FAA had inadequate awareness the system's function.

The report comes as regulators continue to scrutinize Boeing's proposed software changes and training, which would eventually get the 737 back in the air.

The top-selling airplane has been grounded since March, but Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said he was confident in the software fixes.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) BOEING CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO DENNIS MUILENBURG, SAYING:

"I can also tell you that we have looked deeply at the MAX, and its design, and the processes over the last year, and the software update, we have extraordinary confidence in."

That was him speaking earlier this month in New York, where he said he hopes the 737 MAX can return to service this quarter.