FAA chief pledges to carry Boeing accountable for any violations of security guidelines

The brand new chief of the Federal Aviation Administration says the company will use extra folks to watch plane manufacturing and maintain Boeing accountable for any violations of security laws.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker is anticipated to face a barrage of questions Tuesday about FAA oversight of the corporate since a door panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner over Oregon final month.

Individually, investigators with the Nationwide Transportation Security Board are anticipated to launch a preliminary report on the Jan. 5 incident as early as Tuesday.

Whitaker is scheduled to testify earlier than the Home Transportation Committee. Leaders of the committee spelled out questions they need answered, together with whether or not FAA discovered ”persistent high quality management lapses” at Boeing earlier than the accident, and any since then. The listening to will likely be held at 10 a.m. ET and streamed right here.

No Boeing representatives are scheduled to testify.

Alaska Airways blowout

Boeing and the FAA have been beneath renewed scrutiny since final month’s incident on an Alaska Airways Max 9. Criticism of each the corporate and its regulator return to lethal crashes in 2018 and 2019 of Max 8 jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 folks.

The FAA offered excerpts of Whitaker’s written testimony forward of Tuesday’s listening to. He vowed that FAA will ”take applicable and essential motion” to maintain the flying public secure.

With out giving specifics, Whitaker mentioned the FAA will enhance staffing to watch plane manufacturing, ”and we are going to take into account the complete extent of our enforcement authority to make sure Boeing is held accountable for any non-compliance” with laws.

After the incident on the Alaska jet, the FAA grounded most Max 9s for 3 weeks till panels known as door plugs could possibly be inspected. FAA additionally mentioned it will not let Boeing enhance the manufacturing charge of recent Max jets till it’s glad with the corporate’s security procedures.

On Sunday, Boeing, which is predicated in Arlington, Virginia, disclosed that improperly drilled holes within the window frames would require the corporate to remodel about 50 planes earlier than they are often delivered to airline prospects.