Current:Home > ContactFAA chief promises "more boots on the ground" to track Boeing -消息
FAA chief promises "more boots on the ground" to track Boeing
View
Date:2025-04-14 01:45:55
The Federal Aviation Administration will step up inspections of aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the agency's top official told lawmakers Tuesday.
FAA chief Mike Whitaker's appearance before a House panel comes a month after a door panel blew off of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet while flying, raising concerns about Boeing's manufacturing process and the agency's oversight of the plane maker.
"We will have more boots on the ground closely scrutinizing and monitoring production and manufacturing activities," Whitaker told the aviation subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "Boeing employees are encouraged to use our hotline to report any safety concerns."
The FAA grounded all U.S.-based Max 9 jets after the January 5 incident that occurred on an Alaska Airlines flight, just minutes after the aircraft took off from Portland, Oregon. The agency late last month cleared the aircraft for flight after inspection.
The FAA anticipates having enough information from a probe launched after the near-catastrophic accident to make recommendations as soon as later this month, the agency said on Monday.
The agency currently has about two dozen inspectors at Boeing and about half a dozen at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, Whitaker, a former airline executive who took the helm of the FAA in October, told lawmakers.
The FAA has long relied on aircraft manufacturers to perform some safety-related work on their planes. That saves money for the government, and in theory taps the expertise of industry employees. But that approach was criticized after two deadly crashes involving Boeing Max 8 planes in 2018 and 2019.
"In order to have a truly safe system, it seems to me that we can't rely on the manufacturers themselves to be their own watchdogs," Rep. Colin Allred, D,-Texas, said during Tuesday's hearing.
Raising the retirement age for pilots
Separately, the issue of raising the retirement age for pilots came up at the hearing. Last year, the House voted to increase the retirement age to 67 from 65 for pilots as part of a broader bill covering FAA operations. A Senate committee is scheduled to take up a version of the measure Thursday.
At Tuesday's hearing, Whitaker said the FAA said the agency wants to first study the potential safety risks of raising the mandatory retirement age.
"If you're going to change it we'd like to have some data around that," Whitaker said.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- In:
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Boeing
Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York.
veryGood! (47272)
Related
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Robert Griffin III says former coach Jay Gruden has 'zero integrity' in fiery social media feud
- Oregon teen's heroic act may have saved a baby from electrocution after power line kills 3
- Kraft Singles introduces 3 new cheese flavors after 10 years
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Why electric cars don't do well in cold weather – and what you can do about it
- Ohio man kept dead wife's body well-preserved on property for years, reports say
- Oregon teen's heroic act may have saved a baby from electrocution after power line kills 3
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Why electric cars don't do well in cold weather – and what you can do about it
Ranking
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Former Olympic pole vaulter, world champ Shawn Barber dies at 29
- U.S. vet wounded in Ukraine-Russia war urges Congress to approve more funding for Kyiv
- Police in Jamaica detain former Parliament member in wife’s death
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Prosecutors arrest flight attendant on suspicion of trying to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
- Man on trial for killing young woman whose friends pulled into wrong driveway says ‘my soul is dead’
- Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says he expects to be back next season
Recommendation
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Teen pleads guilty in Denver house fire that killed 5 from Senegal
Ashley Park reveals she spent a week in the ICU with 'critical septic shock'
Oregon teen's heroic act may have saved a baby from electrocution after power line kills 3
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
NFL quarterback confidence ranking: Any playoff passers to trust beyond Patrick Mahomes?
Namibian President Hage Geingob will start treatment for cancer, his office says