The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday that the agency was “very indifferent” to regulating aircraft manufacturers before a door on a Boeing plane exploded in January, causing weeks of scrutiny over manufacturing safety. from the company.
FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Boeing that his agency “should have had much better visibility” into Boeing’s manufacturing process.
“The FAA’s approach was too lackadaisical, too focused on bureaucratic audits and not focused enough on inspections,” he said. “We have changed this approach in recent months and these changes are permanent. We have now moved to a more active and comprehensive oversight model, the audit-plus-inspection model, which allows the FAA to have a much better view of Boeing operations.”
The door explosion of a Boeing 787 Max operated by Alaska Airlines, caused by missing screws, resulted in the grounding of all similar aircraft in the country and mandatory inspections. An investigation into Boeing’s process found a lax safety culture and oversights during manufacturing.
“There are issues surrounding the safety culture at Boeing. Their priorities have been focused on production rather than safety and quality,” Whittaker said in March. “And so what we’re really focused on now is shifting the focus from production to safety and quality.”
The FAA said its six-week audit of Boeing found “multiple instances in which the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.”
The scrutiny sank the company’s shares and brought additional scrutiny from Congress. The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation in March, and members of the Senate Commerce Committee have previously promised more oversight.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the committee’s ranking member, said in March that more oversight is “unquestionably” needed.
“This is an ongoing problem. Obviously, what has happened to Boeing in recent months is deeply troubling. The NTSB is involved in the investigation of the Alaska Airlines incident. This investigation needs to be completed,” he told The Hill.
“The challenges we have seen recently have raised real, material concerns that need to be addressed.”
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