The chair of the House Transportation Committee has asked the head of the Federal Aviation Administration to complete a thorough analysis into how well the agency oversees Boeing and other manufacturers.
Committee chair Maria Cantwell made the request in a 27 July letter to FAA administrator Michael Whitaker, Cantwell’s office said on 30 July.
“I write to request that the FAA perform a thorough root-cause analysis to identify any deficiencies in its own oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers,” says Cantwell’s letter.
The senator asks that as part of the review the FAA also “develop corrective actions” and provide Congress with details about how it will “strengthen its policies to improve its oversight of aviation manufacturers”.
Cantwell asks Whitaker to respond by 12 August with details about how he intends to satisfy the request.
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FlightGlobal.
The agency has been under the spotlight following the 5 January in-flight blow out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9’s mid-cabin door plug.
Boeing has said its workers failed to properly secure the plug before delivering the jet to Alaska, but the incident raised concerns about the effectiveness of the FAA’s oversight.
In response to the 5 January incident, at the request of Congress, the FAA completed an audit of Boeing’s compliance with aircraft production requirements. That audit identified many “non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control”, says Cantwell’s 27 July letter.
She is asking the FAA to complete the fresh review in light of those findings, writing, “I am concerned about whether FAA action – or inaction – contributed to Boeing’s problems”.
“A root-cause analysis would ensure both Boeing and FAA have discovered the core causes of problems, rather than just symptoms,” says the letter. “We believe it critical for FAA to undertake this process of self-evaluation.”
