The Federal Aviation Administration will increase its oversight of Boeing production and manufacturing, the agency said Friday, one day after announcing it had opened an investigation.
The FAA says it will audit Boeing’s 737 Max 9 production line and its suppliers “to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures.”
The results of the initial audit will determine whether additional audits are needed, the agency said.
“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.
“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,” Whitaker said. “The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing’s inspections and its quality system.”
The FAA said it will also conduct “increased monitoring of Boeing 737-9 MAX in-service events” as well as an “assessment of safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight, and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.”
“We are working to make sure nothing like this happens again,” Whitaker said in another statement earlier Friday.
The move comes one week after an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing when a door plug fell off the fuselage midair. The flight had left Portland, Oregon, bound for Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, California.
Passengers described hearing a “loud bang” shortly after takeoff. A photo from one passenger showed a panel missing from the side of the fuselage.
Alaska Airlines said Friday that its flights on the 737 Max are canceled through Tuesday, amounting to between 110 to 150 flights per day. The airline has 65 of that type of plane in its fleet.
Seven passengers who were onboard the Alaska Airlines flight have sued Boeing.
The class-action lawsuit, filed late Thursday in…
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