To the Editor:

Re “Relaxed F.A.A. Oversight at Root of Boeing’s Crisis” (front page, July 28):

Isn’t it nice to have an authoritarian figure in the Federal Aviation Administration to blame for a manufacturer’s mistake? The article implies that the F.A.A. is at fault because it was lax in its oversight. With or without regulatory oversight, Boeing bears the full responsibility for this design error.

What is needed is not shifting the blame to a government regulatory agency but a thorough understanding by Boeing as to whether overly aggressive financial management, poorly managed or trained engineers, a management culture that doesn’t tolerate truth to power, or another flaw in the process of designing and manufacturing a very sophisticated and complex product is at fault.

Tom B. Burgher

Santa Barbara, Calif.

To the Editor:

Boeing ’s negligence in the rush to have the airplane approved, in order to compete with Airbus, and the F.A.A.’s cozy relationship with Boeing, including appointing inexperienced personnel to oversee the approval process, resulted in 346 people perishing in the two crashes of this airplane. This should not go unpunished. Those responsible should be put on trial.

Peter Roman

New York

To the Editor:

The F.A.A. may have some culpability, along with Boeing, in how this aircraft was certified, but it is important to keep in mind that an official investigation of the two crashes has not been completed. There are many unknowns.