Report: U.S. Dept. of Transportation and Justice Department investigating FAA over Boeing 737 MAX

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration's approval of Boeing's 737 MAX jets. Two of the new airliners crashed in similar circumstances, killing hundreds of passengers, and American regulators were conspiciously slow to ground the jet even after flights were halted in other countries.

Federal prosecutors and Department of Transportation officials are scrutinizing the development of Boeing Co.'s 737 MAX jetliners, according to people familiar with the matter, unusual inquiries that come amid probes of regulators' safety approvals of the new plane. A grand jury in Washington, D.C., issued a broad subpoena dated March 11 to at least one person involved in the 737 MAX's development, seeking related documents, including correspondence, emails and other messages, one of these people said. The subpoena, with a prosecutor from the Justice Department's criminal division listed as a contact, sought documents to be handed over later this month.