A US judge has dismissed two charges against Mark Forkner. former Boeing chief technical pilot, who is accused of deceiving federal regulators evaluating the company's 737 MAX jet, reports Reuters. The judge has dismissing two fraud counts alleging Forkner made materially false communications concerning the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), ruling that those charges cannot proceed “because they must involve a tangible airplane part”.
U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor rejected a request to dismiss the other four counts which allege wire fraud. Forkner has not been charged with causing the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 or Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
The case is currently set for trial in early March.