FAA 'too hands off', chief says, in Boeing oversight before 737 MAX 9 incident

By David Shepardson and Allison Lampert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Thursday the agency was "too hands off" in oversight of Boeing before a January mid-air emergency in a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, as it pursued multiple investigations into the planemaker.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker's comments at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing mark the first time the U.S. aviation regulator has acknowledged inadequate oversight in the Jan. 5 incident, in which a door panel blew out during the flight.

"The FAA should have had much better visibility into what was happening at Boeing before Jan. 5," Whitaker said.

He said the agency had permanently boosted the use of in-person inspectors and that he would visit a Boeing factory in South Carolina on Friday.

The FAA's approach before the mid-air incident "was too hands off, too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections," Whitaker added.

"We will utilize the full extent of our enforcement authority to ensure Boeing is held accountable for any noncompliance. We currently have multiple active investigations into Boeing and are processing a number of reports filed by whistle-blowers."

Asked if the FAA shared responsibility or some blame for the Jan. 5 incident, Whitaker said: "Boeing makes the airplane so Boeing is responsible, but we're also responsible for oversight, so we should have had a better handle on what was going on."

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Whitaker in February barred Boeing from boosting production of its best-selling plane. He said last month he did not expect Boeing to win approval to increase production of the MAX "in the next few months."

Senator Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, said he remained concerned about the FAA's failed Boeing oversight.

"The FAA must guarantee that not only are they certifying an aircraft is safely designed but that the manufacturer is building them to that safe design. Clearly, that was not happening at Boeing."

Whitaker also said the agency will continue increased on-site presence at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems for the foreseeable future.

He added there must be a fundamental shift in Boeing's safety culture and "has been a shift in tone" on quality.

"We have been too much in reactive mode, waiting for some event to occur and analyzing the event to find out what to do differently," Whitaker said. "So we’re shifting to a much more proactive approach. On the manufacturing side, it’s introducing inspectors and coming up with clear indices to monitor performance."

On May 30, Boeing delivered a comprehensive quality improvement plan to the FAA after Whitaker in late February gave Boeing 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues."

Outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will testify on Tuesday before another Senate committee. Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said she could also call Calhoun to appear at a future hearing.

The National Transportation Safety Board said earlier the door panel that flew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet mid-flight was missing four key bolts and no paperwork exists for the removal of those bolts. Whitaker confirmed no paperwork exists.

The Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into the MAX 9 incident.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Allison Lampert; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Rod Nickel)