Congressional panel sets this week for aerospace deal inquiry.

The proposed sale of a 40-percent interest in McDonnell Douglas Corp.'s commercial airline division to Taiwanese interests is scheduled for a Congressional inquiry this week.

Prodded by U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (DNM), a long-time critic of American companies sharing high technology with foreign concerns, the Congressional Joint Economic Committee agreed to hold hearings on the $2 billion deal Dec. 3.

President Robert H. Hood of Douglas Aircraft Co., the McDonnell division in Long Beach that would be primarily affected, is expected to testify.

The hearing will focus on several potential ramifications of the sale, including:

* whether small firms that supply the aerospace giant, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense, might be weakened;

* whether high-wage aerospace jobs could be jeopardized; and

* whether strategic commercial or defense technology might be more quickly transferred to potential rivals.

Bingaman has asked that the review be coupled with "a fundamental reassessment of the administration's trade, technology and foreign investment policies" as they affect the U.S. aerospace industry's future.