The top U.S. aviation regulator said Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration should have been more aware of manufacturing problems inside Boeing before a panel blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
“FAA’s approach was too hands-off — too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told a Senate committee.
Whitaker said that since the Jan. 5 blowout on the Alaska jetliner, the FAA has changed to “more active, comprehensive oversight” of Boeing. That includes, as he has said before, putting more inspectors in factories at Boeing and its chief supplier on the Max, Spirit AeroSystems.
Whitaker made the comments while his agency, the Justice Department and the National Transportation Safety Board continue investigations into the giant aircraft manufacturer. The FAA has limited Boeing’s production of 737 Max jets to 38 per month, but the company is building far fewer than that while it tries to fix quality-control problems.
The fact that Whitaker is just now saying this, when there is blood in the water around Boeing, makes it even less plausible that they are appropriately overseeing the situation. At this point we need to start having conversations about how to safely disassemble and nationalize Boeing.
I understand this isn’t politically easy but we are well past ‘we promise we’re paying attention now’. The minimum action required to regain the status quo would be a full replacement of all executive leadership and criminal prosecution of all involved.
Prior to his FAA appointment, Whitaker was a long time airline industry lawyer and executive.
Don’t confuse the job description on the FAA website, with the actual role he’s been appointed to fill.