#shorts Senator Cruz asked Biden FAA nominee, “Those are all people who know something about aviation and safety. As I look at your record, I see a record where you’ve got experience with buses. You’ve got experience with trains. Buses and trains are very different from planes. My understanding is this administration previously considered you for the board of Amtrak. That could well have been a position you were qualified for, and you might well have received bipartisan support to serve in that role. You know, a lot of discussion, quite rightly, has focused on the horrific crashes of the 737 Max that took 346 souls from us. Let me ask you, Mr. Washington, what is an angle of attack sensor?”

“The angle attack sensor is a sensor that is on the front of the plane that controls the tilt and the altitude of a plane. And how many of them are there on a 737 Max?”

“I believe two. And what systems are there if there are contradictory signals from the angle of attack sensor? What systems are there, yeah?”

“I would say the MCAS system, if I’m not mistaken. Okay.”

“Um, the MCAS system is responsible for the crashes at issue. What happens when you get a different reading from two different sensors?”

“Uh, can you repeat that question, Senator?”

“What happens when you get a different reading from two different angle of attack sensors?”

“Well, I think human reaction needs to take over if that occurs.”

“So why did that not happen on the Lion Air, Ethiopian, or Era flights?”

“Well, Senator, I’m not a pilot. I don’t know if I can answer that particular question …

On 3/1/2023, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas argued that Mr. Washington was simply not qualified for the position. He cited the aviation backgrounds of previous F.A.A. leaders and peppered Mr. Washington with technical questions.

other clips of this published longer video is here: https://youtu.be/Lc3kzDnJlkw
Cruz: previously considered you for board of Amtrak, a position you were qualified for