It wasn't just a failure, and it wasn't an oversight -- the FAA simply rubberstamped anything Boeing gave it, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if there is more to the story. It was a colossal failure that led to a complete loss of trust in the FAA. The FAA went from being an agency whose expertise we lent to the rest of the world to... being just one more captured domestic regulator. I bet the Europeans will lead the investigation of the next big accident outside the U.S., as well they should.