By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A top U.S. House Democrat oversaw a huge investigation into Boeing’s (NYSE:) 737 MAX. He said that the indictment against a former chief tech pilot shouldn’t be the final word on the responsibility for the fatal accidents that resulted in 346 deaths.

“Senior executives at Boeing are to blame for creating a culture of concealment which ultimately lead to the 737 MAX crash and 346 deaths,” stated Representative Peter DeFazio who heads the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

After being indicted in Texas by a grand jury on six counts, Mark Forkner (49) was scheduled to appear in court. He is accused of conspiring to defraud Boeing customers based in the United States to get tens to millions of dollars.

“Mark Forkner’s indictment should not be the end of the accountability for this colossal and tragic failure,” DeFazio said.

Boeing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Forkner didn’t immediately reply to my request for comment.

Congress has approved legislation that would reform the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) certification process for new aircrafts. DeFazio indicated that the agency needed to “work immediately to implement this bipartisan legislation.”

DeFazio’s September 2020 report said the MAX crashes “were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA.”

After the death of all 157 passengers on board Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, the 737 MAX was forced to be grounded.

Robert Clifford was a lawyer who represented the relatives of victims in the Ethiopian plane crash. The Forkner case “is a corporate Whitewash.” This unconscionable form of corporate greed is beyond the reach (Forkner) of the company that made these planes haphazardly in an attempt to boost profits.

Boeing entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on January 20th, in which it agreed to pay over $2.5 Billion in compensation and fines for its MAX crashes. These MAX accidents cost Boeing $20 billion.