Boeing ordered to adopt safety policies in big spending bill

Sweeping aviation safety measures that would require aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing to enact new safety policies, shield employees from company pressures and toughen government enforcement are included in legislation Congress is poised to approve. The FAA reform bill, the most significant aviation safety legislation in the past decade, was a last-minute addition Monday to massive year-end legislation and is expected to pass soon. It is designed to address failures uncovered after two fatal crashes of 737 Max jetliners. It would require all planemakers to add robust internal safety systems, mandate an external review of the organization within Boeing that uses its own employees to review designs and direct FAA to more closely monitor manufacturers’ processes, according to a summary provided by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Our bipartisan deal is the result of nearly two years of intense investigation in my committee, multiple public hearings on both sides of the Capitol, and countless conversations with the families of the victims and the aviation community,” said Representative Pete DeFazio of Oregon, the Democratic chair of the House Transportation Committee. The legislation adds protections against whistle-blower retaliation, creates an FAA whistle-blower ombudsman and shields employees of aviation manufacturers if they come forward with safety issues. In an unusual move, the bill also directs the FAA to take possible enforcement action against Boeing. The “FAA should hold Boeing fully accountable for any failure to meet the conditions of its 2015 settlement agreement with the FAA,” said a bill summary.<br/>