US FAA to boost oversight of Boeing, sees more manufacturing issues
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it will intensify oversight of Boeing (NYSE:BA) after a panel broke off a new jet in mid-flight, and the agency's chief Mike Whitaker sees «other manufacturing problems» at the largest U.S. planemaker.
The FAA said in a statement it will conduct a new audit of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 production line and its suppliers and may conduct further audits depending on the results.
The agency is also considering shifting additional FAA responsibilities assigned to Boeing to an independent entity after an Alaska Airlines jet had to make a dramatic emergency landing a week ago when the panel broke off, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage.
Whitaker told CNBC the new MAX 9 airplane that had the mid-air emergency had «significant problems» and noted Boeing's past history of production issues.
«We know there are problems with manufacturing, there have been problems in the past. But these are continuing and the aircraft was three months old,» Whitaker said of the Alaska airplane. «We believe there are other manufacturing problems as well.»
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights since Saturday. The FAA on Saturday grounded 171 airplanes MAX 9 with the same configuration, while the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating if the MAX 9 was missing or had improperly tightened bolts.
Boeing shares fell 1.5% in morning trading and are down nearly 12% since the incident. Confidence in Boeing has been shaken since a pair of MAX 9 crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
Boeing did not immediately comment on the FAA's latest move. On Thursday, the company said it would «cooperate fully and
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