The acting top US aviation regulator defended the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday from charges by an unnamed agency employee

Boeing Co said it invited more than 200 global airline pilots, technical leaders and regulators for an information session on Wednesday as it looks to return the 737 MAX to commercial service.

Investigators into the Boeing Co 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia have found striking similarities in a vital flight angle with an airplane that came down off Indonesia, a source said, piling pressure on the world's biggest planemaker.

The investigation into the final minutes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 turned on Tuesday to the secrets in the cockpit voice recorder as Boeing and a shaken global aviation industry hung on the outcome.

Ethiopians were holding funerals Sunday for friends and relatives who perished in last week's Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed all onboard and saw the worldwide grounding of the Boeing aircraft involved.

A French investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash that killed 157 passengers and crew opened Friday as US aerospace giant Boeing stopped delivering the top-selling aircraft.