The official nominated for deputy secretary of the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) by President Donald Trump is emphasizing the need for stricter regulatory oversight of major aviation manufacturer Boeing.
Steve Bradbury, former general counsel to the Transportation Department, said during a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Thursday, “We need to be tougher on Boeing. We need to be tougher on the industry." His comments come amid heightened scrutiny of Boeing’s safety record following multiple incidents involving its 737 MAX aircraft.
Lawmakers pressed Bradbury about his role during Trump’s first term, questioning whether he had deliberately withheld documents from a Senate investigation into two fatal 737 MAX crashes that occurred in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. At the time, the Senate was attempting to obtain records from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pertaining to the two tragic incidents.
Back then, Bradbury told the Senate that his department was inundated with requests for information and was actively working to provide documents, not to obstruct the investigation.
Boeing has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, particularly after a door panel detached mid-flight from an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. In early 2024, then-FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, appointed under former President Joe Biden, implemented a cap restricting Boeing’s production of 737 MAX aircraft to 38 planes per month.
In January, current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Congress that the planemaker needs “tough love” and reaffirmed that the production cap on 737 MAX models will not be lifted until regulators are confident in the aircraft’s safety.
Duffy also announced plans to visit Boeing’s facilities in Seattle in March, accompanied by acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau, "evaluate firsthand the measures being implemented to ensure its planes meet the highest safety standards," according to Reuters.
In a related development, the FAA is approaching the expiration of a three-year program approved by the FAA in May 2022, which allows Boeing to handle certain aircraft certification tasks internally. The planemaker had originally requested a five-year program renewal.
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