Current:Home > ContactThe head of the FAA says his agency was too hands-off in its oversight of Boeing -Core Financial Strategies
The head of the FAA says his agency was too hands-off in its oversight of Boeing
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:42:28
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.
Investigators say the door plug that blew out of the Alaska jet was missing four bolts that helped secure it in place. The plug was removed and reinstalled at a Boeing factory, and the company told federal officials it had no records of who performed the work and forgot to replace the bolts.
“If Boeing is saying, ‘We don’t have the documentation, we don’t know who removed it,’ where was the (FAA) aviation safety inspector?” Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., asked Whitaker.
“We would not have had them on the ground at that point,” he said.
“And why not?” Cantwell responded.
“Because at that point the agency was focusing on auditing the internal quality programs at Boeing,” Whitaker said. “We clearly did not have enough folks on the ground to see what was going on at that factory.”
Whitaker said the FAA is hiring more air traffic controllers and safety inspectors but is competing with the aerospace industry for talent. He said the FAA has lost valuable experience in the ranks of its inspectors with its current, younger workforce.
veryGood! (87183)
Related
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Amazon calls off bid to buy robot vacuum cleaner iRobot amid scrutiny in the US and Europe
- Israeli undercover forces dressed as women and medics storm West Bank hospital, killing 3 militants
- ICC prosecutor: There are grounds to believe Sudan’s warring sides are committing crimes in Darfur
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Horoscopes Today, January 29, 2024
- What a Jim Crow-era asylum can teach us about mental health today
- Kate Middleton and Prince William Thank Supporters for Well Wishes Amid Her Recovery
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Police seize weapons, explosives from a home in northern Greece
Ranking
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Putin and Lukashenko meet in St Petersburg to discuss ways to expand the Russia-Belarus alliance
- Horoscopes Today, January 29, 2024
- South Africa’s ruling ANC suspends former president Zuma for backing a new party in elections
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Live updates | Israeli forces raid a West Bank hospital, killing 3 Palestinian militants
- Real estate giant China Evergrande ordered by Hong Kong court to liquidate
- Sophie Turner shows off playful photos with rumored beau Peregrine Pearson on social media
Recommendation
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
France’s government prepares new measures to calm farmers’ protests, with barricades squeezing Paris
Minnesota trooper accused of fatally shooting motorist Ricky Cobb II makes first court appearance
Expletive. Fight. More expletives. Chiefs reach Super Bowl and win trash-talking battle
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach’s Exes Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig Have Rare Airport Outing
The 49 Most Popular Amazon Items E! Readers Bought This Month: $1 Lip Liners, Kyle Richards' Picks & More
David and Victoria Beckham Troll Themselves in the Most Hilarious Way