SAFETY FIRST

Boeing Accused of Fast Tracking Aircraft Self-Certification With FAA Permission

The FAA has been delegating certification tasks to the jet maker.

U.S. lawmakers will be focusing on why the FAA delegates some certification tasks to jet maker Boeing in lieu of doing it themselves. After back-to-back fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets, lawmakers will be looking at whether the automated anti-stall system was properly vetted, according to the Wall Street Journal. “There are a whole host of questions about the certification of the plane,” said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio. “The more I learn, the more concerned I become.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) wrote a letter to acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell accusing the agency of having “left the fox guarding the henhouse,” according to the paper. The FAA responded in a statement, accusing congress of forcing them to streamline some procedures. “FAA has never allowed companies to police themselves or self-certify their aircraft. The use of delegation has been a vital part of our safety system since the 1920s, and without it, the success of our country’s aviation system likely would have been stifled.”

opinion

CULTURE IN CRISIS

Boeing’s Cost-Cutting Addiction Led to Disaster

Clive Irving