The top US aviation regulator says oversight of Boeing 'is not delivering safe aircraft'
The new chief of the FAA said Tuesday that his agency is midway through a review of manufacturing at Boeing, but he already knows that changes must be made in how the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker suggested that Boeing — under pressure from airlines to produce large numbers of planes — is not paying enough attention to safety. Whitaker said that FAA has had two challenges since Jan. 5, when an emergency door panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner over Oregon. “One, what is wrong with this airplane? But two, what's going on with the production at Boeing?” Whitaker told a House subcommittee. “There have been issues in the past. They don't seem to be getting resolved, so we feel like we need to have a heightened level of oversight.” Whitaker, who took over the FAA about three months ago, was making his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the blowout over Oregon. Separately, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to release a preliminary report on last month's incident as early as Tuesday. Whitaker's testimony before a House Transportation subcommittee was wide-ranging. Leaders of the panel had spelled out questions they wanted answered, but few lawmakers stuck to the script — they asked about everything from the Max 9 incident to raising the retirement age for pilots to migrants being housed at airports. Whitaker said the FAA is halfway through a six-week audit that has involved placing “about two dozen” inspectors in Boeing's 737 plant in Renton, Washington, and “maybe half a dozen” at a Wichita, Kansas, plant where supplier Spirit AeroSystems makes the fuselages for 737s. The inspectors are looking for gaps in the quality of work during the manufacturing process that might have contributed to a door plug blowing off an Alaska Airlines Max 9 at 16,000 feet over Oregon.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-02-07/general/the-top-us-aviation-regulator-says-oversight-of-boeing-is-not-delivering-safe-aircraft
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The top US aviation regulator says oversight of Boeing 'is not delivering safe aircraft'
The new chief of the FAA said Tuesday that his agency is midway through a review of manufacturing at Boeing, but he already knows that changes must be made in how the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker suggested that Boeing — under pressure from airlines to produce large numbers of planes — is not paying enough attention to safety. Whitaker said that FAA has had two challenges since Jan. 5, when an emergency door panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner over Oregon. “One, what is wrong with this airplane? But two, what's going on with the production at Boeing?” Whitaker told a House subcommittee. “There have been issues in the past. They don't seem to be getting resolved, so we feel like we need to have a heightened level of oversight.” Whitaker, who took over the FAA about three months ago, was making his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the blowout over Oregon. Separately, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to release a preliminary report on last month's incident as early as Tuesday. Whitaker's testimony before a House Transportation subcommittee was wide-ranging. Leaders of the panel had spelled out questions they wanted answered, but few lawmakers stuck to the script — they asked about everything from the Max 9 incident to raising the retirement age for pilots to migrants being housed at airports. Whitaker said the FAA is halfway through a six-week audit that has involved placing “about two dozen” inspectors in Boeing's 737 plant in Renton, Washington, and “maybe half a dozen” at a Wichita, Kansas, plant where supplier Spirit AeroSystems makes the fuselages for 737s. The inspectors are looking for gaps in the quality of work during the manufacturing process that might have contributed to a door plug blowing off an Alaska Airlines Max 9 at 16,000 feet over Oregon.<br/>
