The FAA will increase oversight of Boeing and scrutiny of subcontractors responsible for manufacturing the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, according to a statement on Friday.
The announcement comes one day after the FAA opened an official investigation into the aeronautics company’s potential failure to properly ensure the safety of the planes.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 was the same model aircraft involved in a terrifying mid-air accident last week in which a door plug blew off while the aircraft was climbing after takeoff from Portland. No one was injured in the accident, but investigators are increasingly looking into whether four bolts that secure the plug were properly installed. Investigations of other, similar aircraft have shown that at least 10 planes had bolts that were not properly secured.
“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” reads a statement by FAA administrator Mike Whitaker. “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.”
The statement lists the actions that the FAA will be conducting:
- An audit involving the Boeing 737-9 MAX production line and its suppliers to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures. The results of the FAA’s audit analysis will determine whether additional audits are necessary.
- Increased monitoring of Boeing 737-9 MAX in-service events.
- Assessment of safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight, and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.
“The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 MAX to service,” concludes the statement.
The Boeing 737 Max 9 has been fraught with issues since coming into service in 2016. In October 2016, a 737 Max 9 flown by Lion Air out of Indonesia crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. The results of the investigation indicated faulty sensors and a system called Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System that improperly forced the aircraft into a nose dive.
Just four months later, another 737 Max 9 flown by Ethiopian Airlines suffered a similar failure, killing 157 passengers and crew. Both crashes resulted in widespread groundings of the aircraft. The most recent incident in which an Alaska Airlines flight was forced into an emergency landing resulted in the grounding of all similarly-constructed planes.
U.S. lawmakers are once again considering investigations into Boeing and Spirit Aeronautics, the company responsible for constructing the fuselage of the aircraft, reported Reuters.
“Given the previous tragic crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we are deeply concerned that the loose bolts represent a systemic issue with Boeing’s capabilities to manufacture safe airplanes,” Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Peter Welch (D-VT) wrote to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, reported Reuters.
Calhoun, who only recently took over Boeing, has said the company will be transparent with investigators and will take necessary steps to ensure the safety of the 737 Max 9 before pressing for the groundings to be lifted.
Hundreds of flights by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have been canceled. They are the only carriers using the configuration of Max 9 aircraft in the U.S.
