Is FAA and Boeing's relationship a little too cozy?
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Federal Aviation Administration has opened a formal investigation into Boeing for last week's failure of a so-called "door plug" that blew out three-miles high that caused an explosive decompression of the plane that forced an immediate emergency landing.
Boeing has been at the top of the aircraft manufacturing business, civilian and military, for most of its 108 years of existence. Nonetheless, on Friday, the FAA announced it will increase oversight of Boeing, especially its problem-plagued MAX 9 program.
Boeing's CEO told its 156,000 employees, plus all its contractors, this: "I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids, and so do you. This stuff matters," said CEO Dave Calhoun.
Even a week after the near disaster, with Boeing's stock down 14%, Wall Street is not buying the CEO's sincerity, of the FAA's ability to do much about it. "It's been hostage to the industry, literally, almost since its inception," said highly respected aviation attorney, Mary Schiavo, a former U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA Inspector General.
Schiavo said the FAA is saying what it should have already been doing, "I think what the FAA really meant so say was we're going to inspect and we're going to oversee and we're going to do safety enforcement," she said.
She also said the FAA is simply reacting to the National Transportation Safety Board's Thursday announcement that it was widely expanding its look into Boeing. "The FAA simply turned over their job to Boeing. They let Boeing self-certify, self-inspect and basically tell the FAA when the plane was ready for certification."
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To Schiavo, it's the same old song, "Back when I was Inspector General, the FAA was basically, you know, the cheerleader for airlines, the cheerleader for Boeing."
And, according to former Inspector General Schiavo, the FAA has been dismissive of the many whistleblowers who have come to it.
"I don't think the FAA is capable of soul-searching. They're not capable of self-generated change. The only entity they will actually do something for is the hill from whence their money falleth."
"I'd say that's an accurate description," said East Bay Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, who is on the House Subcommittee on Aviation. "So, while I'm grateful that they're going to do this, it's not sufficient. I think Congress and I, myself, being very involved in this, we're going to stay on top of this. The relationship needs to change," said Congressman DeSaulnier.
It's the same kind of relationship that the California Public Utilities Commission had with PG&E until the gas explosion and wildfires changed all that.