By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said on Friday he is launching a new congressional investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing (NYSE:) after a midair emergency involving a 737 MAX 9 in January.
The investigation is the latest in a series of investigations by lawmakers since a door panel blew out during a Jan. 5 flight on a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9, forcing pilots to make an emergency landing while exposing passengers to a gaping hole 16,000 feet above the ground. the ground.
Grassley, who first investigated Boeing’s safety actions in the 1990s, said Boeing and the FAA “must explain how this happened and what is being done to ensure this does not endanger the lives of Americans again.” “
He asked the FAA and Boeing to answer a total of 38 questions “requesting records of safety procedures, regulatory requirements, corrective actions (and) whistleblower protections.”
An FAA audit has revealed serious problems at Boeing, while the FAA has restricted production of the plane maker’s best-selling 737 MAX.
The FAA said it would “respond directly to the senator.” Boeing said it will “remain responsive and transparent with Congress.”
Outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will testify before the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday after a series of incidents raised safety and quality concerns.
The committee’s chairman, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, said earlier this month after two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people: ‘Boeing has committed to overhauling its safety practices and culture. That promise proved empty, and the American people deserve an explanation. .”
Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said Thursday that she could call Calhoun to appear at a future hearing. The top Republican on the panel, Sen. Ted Cruz, said he was disappointed that Calhoun did not appear before Commerce, which has jurisdiction over aviation safety.
Calhoun has said he will leave by the end of the year as part of a broader management shake-up as Boeing faces multiple government investigations and pressure from investors and airlines to find a new CEO.
At an April hearing before the Blumenthal Commission, a Boeing engineer testified that the company took dangerous production cuts on certain planes and sidelined him when he raised safety concerns, the company claims.
Boeing faces an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the door plug burst.
