The Federal Aviation Administration says it will increase its oversight of Boeing and its suppliers, and will re-examine the longstanding practice of allowing company employees to perform some safety analysis of its planes.
Regulators at the FAA say they will begin auditing the production of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 planes after a panel blew off an Alaska Airline flight in midair last week. The agency also said it would assess the safety risks of having delegated some of its oversight authority to Boeing.
“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement Friday. “The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk.”
No one was killed during the Alaska Airlines incident, but investigators say it could have been much worse if the plane, which was at 16,000 feet when the door plug blew out, had violently depressurized at a higher altitude.
The heightened scrutiny of Boeing comes as some lawmakers and safety advocates have raised questions about the company’s quality control — and about the FAA’s ability to oversee its design and manufacturing operations.
In America we pay companies to regulate themselves.
When marking my own homework, it’s always 100%
My ex boss used to say “Self certification is no accolade”
—himself
That’s how individuals go to prison. Delegation is different than self inspection, though.
I mean, you have outsourced legislation to them through Citizens United, the judiciary through luxury trips for the Supreme Court, why not the executive as well?
We’ve policed ourselves and found nothing wrong!