The Scoop
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed Wednesday that the department’s watchdog is looking into the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of Boeing’s manufacturing of 737s and 787s.
“It’s very healthy for the [Inspector General] to be constantly auditing everything that happens across the DOT,” Buttigieg said at the Semafor World Economy Summit. “Obviously, when something is in the news, they’re going to take a closer look the same way we’re taking a closer look at Boeing.”
The FAA has long been criticized for reportedly giving in to Boeing’s demands of relaxing some safety requirements and allowing the company to conduct its own inspections.
The embattled plane maker has been plagued by a series of safety incidents — including a midair panel blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year — resulting in a wide-scale shakeup at the firm. It ousted the head of its 737 Max program in February, and its CEO Dave Calhoun is stepping down by the end of the year.
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Boeing officials on Wednesday appeared before a Senate hearing examining whether the FAA program that allows Boeing to sign off on its own work should be revamped to give the agency more oversight.
“We need to understand the full scope of everything that’s going wrong to help them to fix it,” said Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, adding that the problem primarily lies with the FAA’s understaffing.
In a separate hearing on Wednesday Boeing whistleblowers testified that the company cut corners in the production of 787s and 737s.
The FAA has given Boeing until late May to outline how it plans to address its shortcomings.
