The Associated Press reported that the US Federal Aviation Administration is “in the midst of a review of Boeing's manufacturing” but has “already recognized the need for changes in how the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer.”
FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker has suggested that Boeing is under pressure from airlines to produce planes in large numbers and may not be paying enough attention to safety.
Whitaker said the FAA has faced two challenges since the emergency door panel of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner was blown off over Oregon on Jan. 5. “One, what's wrong with this plane? But two, what's going on with Boeing manufacturing?” Whitaker told a House subcommittee. “There have been issues in the past. It doesn't seem like they've been resolved, so I feel there needs to be a higher level of oversight.”
Whitaker, who took over the FAA about three months ago, made his first appearance at the U.S. Capitol since the explosion over Oregon. Whitaker said the FAA is in the middle of a six-week audit that will include “about two dozen” audits. Boeing has inspectors at its 737 factory in Renton, Wash., and “probably about half a dozen” inspectors at its Wichita, Kan., factory, where supplier Spirit AeroSystems makes 737 fuselages. There are members. Inspectors are looking for gaps in the quality of work during the manufacturing process that may have caused the door plug of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 to blow at 16,000 feet over Oregon. Whitaker said he expects the FAA to retain employees at the Boeing and Spirit plants after the audit is complete, but that number has not yet been determined.
For years, the FAA has relied on aircraft manufacturers' employees to perform some safety-related tasks on the aircraft it manufactures. This would save the government money and theoretically leverage the expertise of industry employees, but after two fatal crashes involving Boeing Max 8 planes in 2018 and 2019, Criticized. “It seems to me that in order to achieve a truly secure system, we cannot rely on manufacturers themselves to be their own watchdogs,” Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, said at Tuesday's hearing. Stated. Whitaker said that in theory, the practice of self-inspections overseen by FAA inspectors should be reconsidered, but he still did not say it should be abolished. But he said Boeing needs to be monitored more closely.
“The current system is not working because it does not provide safe aircraft,” Whitaker said. “Maybe we need to look at incentives to make sure safety is getting the proper initial consideration it deserves.”