Lawmakers slam FAA ‘secrecy’ over Boeing 737 Max
The Federal Aviation Administration has been accused by lawmakers of keeping Congress ‘in the dark’ over certifying the Boeing 737 Max.
During testimony by FAA chief Steve Dickson before a Senate Commerce Committee, there has been an ‘unwillingness to cooperate with congressional oversight’, senators said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal told Dickson his responses were ‘totally unsatisfactory and the ‘culture of secrecy at the FAA has only been aggravated under your tenure.’
The FAA has continued to withhold documents about the development and safety certification of the 737 Max.
Proposed new legislation called the Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act of 2020, wants to change how the FAA conducts safety reviews, by bringing to an end the practice of Boeing employees conducting safety work on behalf of the FAA.
It would require the FAA to approve each employee that carries out safety work, but Dickson told the committee that would likely have little effect.
"A primary goal of this legislation is to make sure the FAA remains in the driver’s seat when it comes to certification," said Sen. Maria Cantwell.
The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded globally since March 2019 after the two crashes that killed 346 people.
The FAA plans to conduct certification flights in the near future and Dickson himself will pilot the jet before any approval is granted.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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