Dennis Wallace

Dennis Wallace, an FAA software engineer on the team that worked on Eclipse's design certification, said he refused to "sign off" on the software days before the certification was awarded.He said there were unresolved issues and that he was surprised to learn later that the jet was certified.

FAA software engineer Dennis Wallace said he had reported that the E500's software was not ready to be certified, and was "surprised" to hear that the type certificate was awarded anyway, on a Saturday afternoon.He described a meeting where staffers were told they were expected to "save the company" -- meaning Eclipse -- and said there was strong pressure from FAA management to certify the jet on time.

FAA software engineer Dennis Wallace's testimony describes how he and other FAA employees were called to a September 2006 meeting about a software supplier for the Eclipse.Wallace planned to report the software was far from ready, since it met just one-third of required objectives.

Wallace told the committee he faced a "harsh line of questioning" from FAA management."The supplier was not the problem," Wallace said."I was perceived by management to be the problem because I wasn't going to accept the software since it had not been shown by the applicant to be compliant to the applicable safety regulations."

Wallace said he was told that he needed to start "thinking outside the box," and that they were there to "save a company."

Dennis Wallace, an FAA software engineer on the team that worked on Eclipse's design certification, said he refused to "sign off" on the software days before the certification was awarded.He said there were unresolved issues and that he was surprised to learn later that the jet was certified.

Another FAA employee on the production certification team, Maryetta Broyles, said an FAA manager told the team that it needed only go "an inch deep" when inspecting Eclipse's production facilities.She said that later, when she asked probing questions during her inspection, an Eclipse employee chided her that she was "going more than an inch deep."