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.

    • @takeda
      link
      5
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Like what? Make them fly?

    • rhythmisaprancer
      link
      fedilink
      511 months ago

      As someone who lives in a little tiny remote town with a lot of long no slow down freight traffic, yes. So many things happen. East Palestine was not a surprise.

    • Skyline5
      link
      311 months ago

      That’s the FRA, and they don’t have nearly the same budget