United States (US) Senator Maria Cantwell has written to the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to request that it analyses whether there are any deficiencies in its oversight of Boeing and other manufacturers.
In a letter addressed to Mike Whitaker on July 27, 2024, Cantwell, who is also the chair of the US Senate Commerce Committee, wrote that the FAA should conduct a “thorough root cause analysis” of its oversight of Boeing and “develop corrective actions” and a “plan for implementing them”.
Boeing’s safety procedures and quality control have been placed under the microscope since a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 mid-flight on January 5, 2024, and following a subsequent audit by the FAA where it identified “non-compliance issues” across the planemaker’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.
“I have serious concerns about FAA’s audits of Boeing and its suppliers, including whether the results of these audits indicate ongoing production issues or ineffective regulatory oversight, or both,” Cantwell wrote in the letter.
Cantwell highlighted that the FAA had carried out 298 audits of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems over the previous two years which “did not result in any enforcement actions”.
RIGHT NOW – NTSB giving rare access into its lab for a first look at the Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug that blew off Alaska flight 1282 on January 5. This is ahead of investigative hearing next week. pic.twitter.com/DoRfwV1VZg
— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) July 30, 2024
Cantwell also wrote that despite those prior audits, when the FAA carried out the inspection following the plug door blowout it continued to identify issues.
The Senator questioned exactly what the FAA had required of Boeing following the discovery of violations in the prior 298 audits.
“It remains unclear how FAA will improve its oversight of Boeing and ensure that Boeing addresses the root causes of the noncompliances identified from all these audits,” Cantwell wrote in her letter.
The Senator added: “While the FAA has rightly focused on Boeing’s production quality shortcomings, I am concerned about whether FAA action – or inaction – contributed to Boeing’s problems.”
The FAA has been instructed to report back to the Senate Commerce Committee on its findings and how it will “strengthen its policies to improve its oversight of aviation manufacturers”.
Senator Cantwell confirmed that the FAA must provide a response by August 12, 2024.
When Whittaker appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee in June 2024, he admitted that the FAA had been “too hands off” in its oversight of Boeing before the Alaska Airlines incident.
A National Transport Safety board (NTSB) hearing will start on August 6 and 7, 2024, to gather evidence in an effort to “determine the facts, circumstances, and probable cause” of the Alaska Airlines plug blowout.
Led by NTSB head Jeniffer Homendy the hearing will also feature board members Michael Graham, Thomas Chapman, Alvin Brown and Todd Inman.
Also present will be investigative staff, scheduled witnesses and parties to the hearing. The hearing will be available to the public to watch on a livestream.
On July 30, 2024, the NTSB allowed media representatives to view the Alaska Airlines plug door at its premises ahead of next week’s hearing.