The United States Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday (January 12) that it will increase its oversight on Boeing. The aviation agency has already opened a probe into the Alaska Airlines incident involving Boeing 737 MAX 9 which lost part of its fuselage while in air creating a near-catastrophic situation. But the pilots were able to safely land the plane and there were no major injuries or deaths.
ABC News has quoted FAA saying that the audit will “evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures.” The federal aviation watchdog also said that it will also make an assessment of safety risks and quality oversight.
The aviation watchdog will also look into the Organization Designation Authorization programme (ODA) under which some certification processes are delegated to manufacturing companies like Boeing.
Michael Whitaker, the FAA Administrator has also been quoted as saying that the FAA is “exploring” whether is also needs to take on board an independent third party to oversee inspections and quality system within Boeing.
“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” Whitaker said as quoted by ABC News
“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.”
On Friday, the FAA mentioned three points of increased oversight on Boeing:
- An audit to check Boeing 737 MAX 9 production line and the suppliers
- Increased focus on Boeing 737 in-service events.
- Assessment of safety risks related to “delegated authority and quality oversight and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.”
The latest announcement from the FAA has come just a day after it announced that it would launch a probe into Alaska Airlines incident.
