Regulators say they're increasing control of Boeing production after a panel blew off a 737 Max 9 jet, and will re-examine whether the company can be trusted to assess the safety of its own planes.

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.

  • Machinist3359@kbin.social
    6·
    10 months ago

    Fwiw Kayak has built this search feature in specifically to filter out the 737 Max. It’s quite difficult to avoid Boeing, but other models are usually available, esp from American Airlines.