(Bloomberg) — A US government watchdog called into question the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of Boeing Co., saying the agency isn’t sufficiently taking charge of monitoring the planemaker.
The US Transportation Department’s office of inspector general said in the report commissioned by members of Congress that the FAA’s processes for identifying and resolving production issues at Boeing are “not effective.”
“The Agency has yet to move from a reactive approach focused on addressing individual manufacturing issues to a more proactive, data-driven model,” the watchdog said. “Nor has it demonstrated an ability to resolve allegations of undue pressure on Boeing employees acting on FAA’s behalf.”
The damning report, which covers the FAA’s oversight of the Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft production, comes at a tumultuous time for Boeing, which has been in crisis mode since January when a fuselage panel blew off a 737 Max shortly after takeoff. Since then, the company has attempted to ease concerns by making changes to its manufacturing processes, promising to address problems with its internal safety culture and bringing on a new chief executive officer.
Boeing hasn’t been alone in facing scrutiny, with the FAA also at the receiving end of a backlash from policymakers for not picking up sooner on issues at the planemaker.
The inspector general made 16 recommendations, including changes to better verify that Boeing and its suppliers can produce parts that meet engineering and design requirements and enforce requirements for the planemaker to provide sufficient detail on allegations of undue pressure placed on workers. The timeline to implement these changes runs from 2025 to 2028.
The FAA said in an emailed statement Friday that it agrees with all of the recommendations. The regulator said it’s “committed to continuously improving our oversight processes” and is currently conducting a review to provide for a “more dynamic, data driven” approach.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, who chairs the Senate’s aviation safety subcommittee, said in a statement on Friday that the report’s findings show that the regulator “is not effectively holding Boeing accountable.”
“FAA clearly has work to do to better protect the flying public and I will continue my close Congressional oversight of those efforts,” she said.
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