Boeing reportedly may have hid 737 Max issue for years

Boeing may have been hiding issues with the 737 Max for years.

Internal messages from 2016 between Boeing employees suggest the aircraft maker may have misled the Federal Aviation Administration about a Boeing 737 Max safety system, Reuters reports, citing sources briefed on the matter.

The messages raised questions about the 737 Max's MCAS anti-stall system, which has been linked to the two fatal crases in a five-month span, Reuters says.

Shares of the aircraft market turned lower following the news.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BA	THE BOEING CO.	144.30	-1.78	-1.22%

"Dennis Muilenburg called FAA Administrator Dickson to respond to the concerns raised in his letter. In addition, Mr. Muilenburg assured the Administrator that we are taking every step possible to safely return the MAX to service," a Boeing spokerson said in a statement.

"Yesterday, we brought to the attention of the Department of Transportation a document containing statements by a former Boeing employee.  Earlier this year, Boeing produced this same document to the appropriate investigating authority.  Boeing has also been voluntarily cooperating with the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s investigation into the 737 MAX.  As part of that cooperation, today we brought that document to the Committee’s attention as well.  We will continue to cooperate with the Committee, and all other authorities, as they move forward with their investigations."

The 737 Max, Boeing's best-selling model in its history, was grounded in March after the two crashes killed more than 300 people. Regulators demanded the planemaker devise a patch to prevent the software from acting on erroneous data and attempting to lower a plane's angle of attack during takeoff.

On Saturday, CEO Dennis Muilenburg lost his title as chairman of the board. David Calhoun, current independent lead director, was named non-executive chairman.