The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is stepping up its inspection of Boeing after acknowledging it was "too hands-off" in its oversight of the aircraft manufacturer in the lead-up to an incident in which a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight in January.
"Let me also acknowledge the FAA should have had much better visibility into what was happening at Boeing," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday.
"Before January 5, the FAA's approach was too hands-off, too focused on paperwork audits, and not focused enough on inspections." "We have changed that approach over the last several months, and those changes are permanent," he added. "We have now moved to a more active comprehensive oversight model—the audit plus inspection approach, which allows the FAA to have much better insight into Boeing's operations."
"I will personally remain engaged to ensure Boeing executes the necessary changes to transform its safety culture and address its production quality issues."
The agency has permanently boosted the use of in-person inspectors and said it will maintain an increased on-site presence at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems "for the foreseeable future."
"We will utilize the full extent of our enforcement authority to ensure Boeing is held accountable for any noncompliance," said Whitaker. "We currently have multiple active investigations into Boeing and are processing a number of reports filed by whistle-blowers."
Boeing sent a comprehensive quality improvement plan to the FAA to address "systemic quality-control issues" late last month but Whitaker doesn't expect the company to gain approval to increase production of the MAX "in the next few months."
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