FAA demanding more transparency from US airplane manufacturers - testimony

The head of the FAA will tell US lawmakers on Thursday that the agency is taking a new stance in overseeing the safety efforts of airplane manufacturers like Boeing. “Our approach to aircraft certification and safety oversight has changed. The FAA’s relationship with manufacturers is evolving,” agency Administrator Steve Dickson says in prepared testimony for a hearing before a US House of Representatives panel. “We are prioritizing oversight of manufacturers and working to focus that oversight on safety-critical areas. We are delegating fewer responsibilities and demanding more transparency from them, and evaluating key assumptions prior to delegating functions in certain areas.” Congress in December approved legislation boosting FAA oversight of aircraft manufacturers, requiring disclosure of critical safety information and providing new whistleblower protections in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to the plane’s 19-month US grounding. Dickson is slated to testify before a Transportation Committee subcommittee at a hearing that comes nearly three years since Lion Air 610 crashed in Indonesia.<br/>