FAA Chief Criticizes Oversight Process at Boeing Manufacturing Plants

Midway through a comprehensive review of Boeing’s operations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made clear that the aircraft maker is not paying enough attention to safety.

FAA Administrator Micheal Whitaker told a House subcommittee that Boeing is operating under pressure to produce too many planes and safety is being sacrificed, according to the Associated Press.

In particular, Whitaker says the manufacturer has faced two issues since early January – when an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane made headlines after an emergency door panel blew off during a flight. 

The door plug blew off as Alaska Flight 1282 flew from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, with six crew members and 171 passengers onboard, depressurizing the cabin and forcing the cockpit door open. The plane’s pilots called for an emergency landing and no injuries were reported. 

“One, what is wrong with this airplane? But two, what’s going on with the production at Boeing?” Whitaker told the 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’s comments come at the same time that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is preparing to release its own report on the Alaska Airlines incident.

The FAA is midway through what’s expected to be a six-week audit of Boeing. The process has involved about two dozen inspectors visiting Boeing’s facilities in Washington state. An additional half dozen inspectors have also spent time at a plant in Kansas where fuselages are produced for 737s by Spirit AeroSystems.

The reviews taking place are meant to identify any gaps in the quality of work when manufacturing takes place, according to the Associated Press.

The FAA chief also revealed that the government agency will likely keep some inspectors stationed at Boeing and Spirit factors after the current audit is complete.

For years now, the FAA has left it up to the aircraft manufacturers themselves to perform safety checks on the planes being built. Having manufacturers self-police themselves was a move that saved the government money. But this approach has since come under fire.

“In order to have a truly safe system, it seems to me that we can’t rely on the manufacturers themselves to be their own watchdogs,” Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, said during Tuesday’s hearing.

For his part, Whitaker did not suggest the self-checking practice should be done away with. But he did suggest it should be reconsidered.

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