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The F.A.A. and Boeing face grillings today

Aviation regulators will testify before Senate subcommittees today on the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max 8 Jets, while Boeing meets with airline executives to update them on a fix for the software thought to be responsible for the accidents.

The F.A.A.’s acting chief will defend the agency’s practice of delegating some plane safety checks to Boeing as “critical” to the success of the certification process. The official, Daniel Elwell, will argue that the process for the Max 8 was “detailed and thorough.”

Senators are expected to ask about long-running doubts about the process. The NYT reports that F.A.A. employees and a Transportation Department watchdog worried over the years that the agency had “too close a relationship” with Boeing officials. Lawmakers will also ask why an update to the jet’s anti-stall software is still not ready.

Boeing’s response to the crisis is also being questioned, particularly since its C.E.O., Dennis Muilenburg, has largely remained silent. “Their comments have been very engineering-esque,” Richard Levick, a communications expert, told the NYT. (The company’s public response has become more assertive since hiring the crisis communications firm Sard Verbinnen.)