FAA Probes Alleged Production Issues at Boeing Plant -- Update
11 Dezembro 2019 - 09:04PM
Dow Jones News
By Doug Cameron and Andy Pasztor
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating
alleged production issues at a Boeing Co. factory near Seattle,
where the plane maker assembles the 737 MAX. The disclosure
followed testimony from a retired manager who told a congressional
committee he had warned repeatedly about quality problems arising
from pressure to produce the aircraft more quickly.
Ed Pierson, the retired Boeing manager, told a House
Transportation Committee hearing on Wednesday that company
executives, its board and U.S. regulators ignored his warnings
about the potential for production issues to affect the quality and
safety of planes rolling off the lines.
His testimony came at a hearing largely focused on the interplay
between Boeing and the FAA over the approval of the MAX; agency
deliberations after the first of two fatal crashes of the jetliner;
and its expected return to service in coming months.
Mr. Pierson said Boeing's efforts to boost production of the MAX
led to "chaotic" scenes on the factory floor last year as work fell
behind schedule, which could have compromised established safety
procedures.
In particular, he questioned how sensors linked to both crashes
could fail on new planes. "It is alarming that these sensors failed
on multiple flights mere months after the airplanes were
manufactured," he said at the hearing.
FAA chief Steve Dickson said earlier at the hearing that he was
aware of Mr. Pierson's concerns. Boeing and investigators have said
they see no connection between the problems Mr. Pierson flagged and
the MAX crisis, which has been driven by software-design issues,
not production issues.
Mr. Dickson didn't provide a timeline for the completion of its
review of the Boeing assembly line, but pledged to interview more
workers.
Mr. Dickson was named head of the FAA in August and wasn't
involved in any of the original MAX certification issues or the
immediate fallout from the crashes.
In his first detailed congressional testimony about the MAX, Mr.
Dickson sought to acknowledge past agency mistakes regarding the
jet, without blaming specific FAA officials.
The former Delta Air Lines Inc. pilot and executive said, during
sometimes heated exchanges with lawmakers, said he was convinced
FAA engineers and others acted based on the best available
information. "All processes need to be improved, each and every
day," he said.
He vowed to reassess the agency's safety-oversight practices and
said he would ensure more transparency from Boeing and other
manufacturers about design changes on new aircraft models.
Mr. Dickson said he hadn't made a decision about whether the
plane maker should be hit with a civil penalty or other punishment
for any MAX lapses, or for various production faults.
Boeing shares rose 0.6%, or $2.10, to $350.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Andy Pasztor
at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 11, 2019 18:49 ET (23:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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