Plans to mandate simulator training for pilots before Boeing Co. BA -6.23% ’s 737 MAX can return to service—already a time-consuming and costly undertaking—could face a further complication: personal friction between the plane maker’s staff and U.S. government officials.

Internal Boeing messages recently made public amid House and Senate investigations showed company pilots ridiculing their counterparts at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Now several of those agency experts are responsible for helping approve a version of Boeing’s updated training programs, according to industry and government officials familiar with the details.

How the two sides get along could partly determine how long it takes to get the MAX flying again, nearly a year after it was grounded world-wide following two fatal crashes that claimed 346 lives.

Excerpt from WSJ
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