By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate report released on Monday says the Federal Aviation Administration must do a better job overseeing Boeing Co and the certification of new airplanes, as well as review allegations raised by seven industry whistleblowers.
The 97-page Senate Commerce Committee report includes concerns raised in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in a five-month period that prompted the plane’s 20-month grounding and Congress to pass sweeping reforms in December 2020 to how the FAA certifies new airplanes.
“FAA’s oversight of the certification process has eroded,” the report found, saying the agency “over time, increasingly delegated away its authority” to Boeing and others.
The FAA, the report said “should take immediate action to address undue pressure at the Boeing” safety oversight office, adding that it is “chronically understaffed.”
Boeing did not immediately comment.
“FAA’s certification process suffers from undue pressure on line engineers and production staff,” the report said. It said the FAA Boeing oversight office lacks enough safety engineers, and it must improve its safety culture.
Committee chair Maria Cantwell wrote FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asking him to review the “concerns raised by these whistleblowers, and implement necessary changes to improve safety in the aviation industry.”
The FAA said Monday it “takes all whistleblower allegations seriously and does not tolerate retaliation against those who raise safety concerns.”
Last month, three U.S. House Democrats asked Dickson to provide more details on the agency’s oversight of the Boeing 737 MAX and questioned whether the manufacturer had been held fully accountable.
The Senate report said the 737 MAX crashes and U.S. grounding lifted in late 2020 “cost Boeing more than $20 billion and inflicted significant reputational harm to the U.S. aviation safety oversight system.”
Dickson said in November “Boeing is not the same as it was two years ago, but they have more to work to do.”
He said the FAA was delegating fewer responsibilities to Boeing for aircraft certification and was “demanding more transparency” from manufacturers.
The FAA is currently scrutinizing a number of issues involving Boeing airplanes.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler)
