US senator wants FAA to conduct thorough review into Boeing oversight

The chair of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee wants the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a thorough review into its oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers, raising serious questions about the government's scrutiny of the planemaker. "While the FAA has rightly focused on Boeing’s production quality shortcomings, I am concerned about whether FAA action - or inaction - contributed to Boeing’s problems," Senator Maria Cantwell said in a letter first reported by Reuters to FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. She said the FAA in April disclosed that it had conducted a combined total of 298 audits of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opens new tab over the prior two years that "did not result in any enforcement actions." Boeing declined comment. FAA said it would respond to Cantwell but declined further comment. Spirit said it "continues to focus on ensuring first-time quality and compliance." Cantwell said in her letter dated Saturday "a root cause analysis would ensure both Boeing and FAA have discovered the core causes of problems, rather than just symptoms." She wants the analysis "to identify any deficiencies in its own oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers" and to "develop corrective actions and a plan for implementing them."<br/>