FAA to be audited for its role in the 737 MAX and 787 programs
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will monitor the role of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the production of the Boeing 737 MAX and 787. The agency will review the FAA’s processes for identifying and resolving production problems.
«The FAA is responsible for overseeing the safety of passenger aircraft in the United States. This includes ensuring that manufacturers meet requirements when producing and delivering new aircraft,» the investigation report states. It then adds that «since 2019, a number of issues have been raised regarding the production of the 737 MAX and 787. These are Boeing’s best-selling aircraft.»
Boeing has had Dreamliner deliveries suspended since May 2021 after the FAA raised concerns about the final inspection of the equipment. While the manufacturer has announced the restart of deliveries on several occasions –most recently in April of this year– the aircraft continue to be stored at its facilities. As of today, there are no concrete indications that they will actually begin to be made available to their operators.
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The OIG noted that «in light of these concerns, members of the Transportation Committee requested that we evaluate the FAA’s role in Boeing’s production. The objective of our audit will be to evaluate the FAA’s oversight of the manufacturer,» the report concludes. According to Reuters, Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen, members of the Transportation Committee, said that the audit «must be comprehensive. It must help prevent a recurrence of safety problems. Then we can ensure the production of safe aircraft.»
Last February, then FAA chief Steve Dickson indicated that Boeing needed «a systemic correction of its processes.» Following this, the agency announced that it was removing Boeing’s authority to certify its own Dreamliners until «the quality control process allows to produce compliant aircraft,» something that has not happened to date.
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