Could a standalone non-profit be the answer to FAA oversight of Boeing?

The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third-party to oversee Boeing inspections and quality oversight after evidence emerged the planemaker failed to install key bolts on a jet that suffered a midair emergency. The question of oversight came into greater focus after the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday it found evidence that suggested four bolts were missing on a door panel that blew out of a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane at 16,000 feet. In the wake of the January accident, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker has begun talking publicly about setting up a non-profit third party entity to potentially help oversee Boeing's quality control. Whitaker told Congress this week that an outside firm is reviewing a longstanding agency practice of delegating some aircraft certification tasks to Boeing. The FAA must certify new airplanes as safe before they can be delivered to airlines. Senate Commerce committee chair Maria Cantwell, whose committee oversees aviation, said on Thursday she plans to call Whitaker for a hearing to discuss his idea in the coming months. "The issue is how do you have the right technical people that really understand the technology and how do you get them in the FAA system, in the oversight system to be on the job now," said Cantwell. Boeing's 737 MAX planes are built in her home state of Washington.<br/>