Having been involved with a large U.S. Government aerospace project that ultimately failed (there are a lot of USG program failures, and a lot of them in aerospace) Mr. Jacobsen's statement that "FAA leadership seems to be denying any wrongdoing" sadly seems to ring quite true. So does the FAA PM asking him why he was in meetings related to MAX even though it may not have been in his formal "swim lane".

There is generally a very sad reticence to acknowledge mistakes within organizations, but failure to earnestly acknowledge, show contrition, and learn from mistakes is dereliction of duty in the public sector in my view. In my own experience, I was a lone voice asking "What are we going do based on learning from this that lessens the likelihood of future such failures?" It was and is an unpopular question. I don't foresee any organizational changes taking place, even though they should. And I don't just mean staff changes, I also mean clear commitments to principle, intent, and wiser behavior.