CONNECTICUT, USA — Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Whitaker answered tough questions Wednesday from the Senate’s Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee.
The hearing focused on the agency’s oversight of Boeing’s “broken safety culture.”
Boeing aircraft has been involved in a number of high profile technical failures including the mid-air emergency of an Alaska Airlines flight, where the door plug blew off on Jan. 5.
Now, a senate subcommittee said it's not just Boeing's job to make sure planes operate properly, but also the FAA, which is tasked with oversight.
Earlier this afternoon, Whitaker, the head of that agency, testified that since the door plug incident, the FAA changed the way it regulates Boeing.
For example, the agency now sends inspectors out to manufacturing plants to attend meetings, review audits, and speak with employees.
They have also capped production of new Boeing planes to ensure the ones already in circulation are safe to fly.
Whitaker testified that while Boeing has made progress in improving its safety culture, he said meaningful change could take years to complete.
“Boeing has been promising these changes for a long time," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who co-chairs the subcommittee, said. "Why hasn't the FAA said you were on probation in effect and you have to do it now?"
“I think we effectively have by capping production so they cannot grow to where they need to grow without having these six metrics in the green stable and a plan to grow safely,” Whitaker replied. “I think that's the big difference between now and previous efforts. If they don't do that, they don't grow and if they don't grow, they're not going to be able to achieve profitability."
Whitaker acknowledged that it takes multiple layers of safety to ensure mistakes don't fall through the cracks.
Meantime, senators said the goal of these hearings is to restore confidence in the traveling public, improve Boeing's product, and protect employees, some of whom have previously testified to being retaliated against for raising safety concerns.
Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor/reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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