FAA announces crackdown on Boeing after fuselage ripped off of its infamous 737 Max jet, says it believes there are 'OTHER production issues' at the beleaguered aerospace company
- The FAA said they believe there are “other production issues” at Boeing
- Regulators previously said Alaska Airlines' near-catastrophe should not have happened and 'cannot happen again'
- The agency was previously criticized for allowing Boeing to conduct its own investigation
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced it will audit Boeing's production line and its suppliers after the door of an Alaska Airlines plane blew off in mid-air.
The agency will significantly increase scrutiny of Boeing, with the agency's head publicly saying they believe there are “other production issues” at the company.
It comes a day after the regulator announced an investigation into Boeing, saying the near-catastrophe should not have happened and “cannot happen again.”
In its statement Thursday, the FAA said it had informed Boeing that it is conducting an investigation to determine whether the aircraft maker failed “to ensure that completed products conform to the approved design and are capable of being safely operated.” to operate'.
“The safety of the flying public, rather than speed, will determine the timetable for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service,” the FAA said.
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced it will audit Boeing's production line and its suppliers after the door blew off in mid-air on an Alaska Airlines plane
It comes a day after the regulator announced an investigation into Boeing, saying the near-catastrophe should not have happened and “cannot happen again.”
The FAA added that the results of the audit “will determine whether additional audits are necessary.”
“We will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the NTSB in their investigations,” Boeing said in a statement.
The agency was previously criticized for letting Boeing conduct its own investigation after two fatal crashes involving Boeing's 737 Max 8.
It has now said it will reexamine its decision to delegate some responsibilities to Boeing and consider transferring some functions to independent, third-party entities.
After last Friday's horrific incident, the FAA grounded 171 Boeing jets with the same panel – most of them operated by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines – pending safety inspections.
The Alaska Airlines plane, which had only been in service for eight weeks, took off from Portland, Oregon, last Friday and was flying at 16,000 feet when the panel tore off the plane. Pilots returned the plane to Portland, with the passengers suffering only minor injuries.
An emergency exit used as a cabin window blew out of Alaskan Airlines flight from Portland to California at 16,000 feet
The flight that was scheduled to arrive at Ontario International in California returned Friday evening after the plug door came loose
Video game designer Sean Bates assumed the phone had been dropped by a jogger when he found it on the side of a road in rural Washington state because there was no scratch on it
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines both said they found loose parts on multiple grounded planes during preliminary checks, raising new concerns about how Boeing's best-selling jet family is manufactured.
The two airlines have canceled hundreds of flights since Saturday while the MAX 9 planes were grounded.
Earlier this week, Boing CEO Dave Calhoun, in his first public acknowledgment of the disaster, admitted mistakes and told employees that the company would ensure that an accident like the Alaska Airlines mid-air panel blowout “never happens again.” can happen.'
Calhoun said the accident left him “shocked to his bones.”
The near-catastrophe comes just five years after the 8 variant of the plane had two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2017 and 2018, killing more than 300 people.