Federal Aviation Administration: Difference between revisions

In 2007, two FAA [[whistleblower]]s, inspectors Charalambe "Bobby" Boutris and Douglas E. Peters, alleged that Boutris said he attempted to ground Southwest after finding cracks in the [[fuselage]] of an [[aircraft]], but was prevented by supervisors he said were friendly with the airline.<ref name="latimes-faa">Johanna Neuman, [http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-airlines4apr04,0,4935961.story "FAA's 'culture of coziness' targeted in airline safety hearing"], ''Los Angeles Times'' (April 3, 2008). {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123163445/http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-airlines4apr04,0,4935961.story |date=January 23, 2013 }}. Retrieved April 11, 2011.</ref> This was validated by a report by the [[United States Department of Transportation|Department of Transportation]] which found FAA managers had allowed [[Southwest Airlines]] to fly 46 airplanes in 2006 and 2007 that were overdue for safety inspections, ignoring concerns raised by inspectors. Audits of other airlines resulted in two airlines grounding hundreds of planes, causing thousands of flight cancellations.<ref name="ainonline">{{cite web |url-status=dead |first1=Paul |last1=Lowe |url=http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-08-31/bill-proposes-distance-between-airlines-and-faa-regulators |title=Bill proposes distance between airlines and FAA regulators |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115173911/http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-08-31/bill-proposes-distance-between-airlines-and-faa-regulators |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |website=AINonline |date=September 1, 2008 |access-date=April 11, 2011}}</ref> The [[United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure|House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee]] held hearings in April 2008. [[Jim Oberstar]], former chairman of the committee, said its investigation uncovered a pattern of regulatory abuse and widespread regulatory lapses, allowing 117 aircraft to be operated commercially although not in compliance with [https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/ FAA safety rules].<ref name="latimes-faa" /> [[Jim Oberstar|Oberstar]] said there was a "culture of coziness" between senior FAA officials and the airlines and "a systematic breakdown" in the FAA's culture that resulted in "malfeasance, bordering on corruption".<ref name="latimes-faa" /> In 2008 the FAA proposed to fine Southwest $10.2 million for failing to inspect older planes for cracks,<ref name="ap-mailtrib/msnbc">{{cite web |first1=David |last1=Koenig |url=http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080307/BIZ/803070316/-1/rss05 |title=Southwest Airlines faces $10.2 million fine |website=[[Mail Tribune]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=March 6, 2008 |access-date=April 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925031746/http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080307/BIZ/803070316/-1/rss05 |archive-date= Sep 25, 2012 }}</ref> and in 2009 [[Southwest Airlines|Southwest]] and the FAA agreed that [[Southwest Airlines|Southwest]] would pay a $7.5 million penalty and would adopt new safety procedures, with the fine doubling if Southwest failed to follow through.<ref>John Hughes for Bloomberg News. March 2, 2009. [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=avFzkpTRRnHc&refer=us Southwest Air Agrees to $7.5 Million Fine, FAA Says (Update2)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924190006/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=avFzkpTRRnHc&refer=us |date=September 24, 2015 }}</ref>

As a result of the March 10, 2019 [[Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302]] crash and the [[Lion Air Flight 610]] crash five months earlier, most airlines and countries began grounding the [[Boeing 737 MAX 8]] (and in many cases all MAX variants) due to safety concerns, but the FAA declined to ground MAX 8 aircraft operating in the U.S.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/africa/airlines-suspend-boeing-flights-intl/index.html |title=US and Canada are the only two nations still flying many Boeing 737 MAX planes |agency=CNN|date=March 12, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412025015/https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/africa/airlines-suspend-boeing-flights-intl/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On March 12, the FAA said that its ongoing review showed "no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft."<ref name="crash"/> Some U.S. Senators called for the FAA to ground the aircraft until an investigation into the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines crash was complete.<ref name="crash">{{cite news |title=U.S. Senate to hold crash hearing as lawmakers urge grounding Boeing 737 MAX 8 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airline-usa/u-s-senate-to-hold-crash-hearing-as-lawmakers-urge-grounding-boeing-737-max-8-idUSKBN1QT1WR |work=Reuters|date=March 12, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710175443/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airline-usa/u-s-senate-to-hold-crash-hearing-as-lawmakers-urge-grounding-boeing-737-max-8-idUSKBN1QT1WR |url-status=live}}</ref> U.S. Transportation Secretary [[Elaine Chao]] said that "If the FAA identifies an issue that affects safety, the department will take immediate and appropriate action."<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. to mandate design changes on Boeing 737 MAX 8 after crashes |url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/12/us-to-mandate-design-changes-on-boeing-737-max-8-after-crashes |publisher=Euronews |date=March 12, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502052942/https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/12/us-to-mandate-design-changes-on-boeing-737-max-8-after-crashes |url-status=live}}</ref> The FAA resisted grounding the aircraft until March 13, 2019, when it received evidence of similarities in the two accidents. By then, 51 other regulators had already grounded the plane,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-14 |title=Editorial: Why was the FAA so late to deplane from Boeing's 737 Max? |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-trump-faa-737-max-grounded-20190314-story.html |access-date=2021-07-20 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720135818/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-trump-faa-737-max-grounded-20190314-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and by March 18, 2019, all 387 aircraft in service were grounded. Three major U.S. airlines--[[Southwest Airlines|Southwest]], [[United Airlines|United]], and [[American Airlines]]—were affected by this decision.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/business/canada-737-max.html |title=Trump Announces Ban of Boeing 737 Max Flights |last1=Austen |first1=Ian |date=March 13, 2019 |work=The New York Times|access-date=March 13, 2019 |last2=Gebrekidan |first2=Selam |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913163144/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/business/canada-737-max.html |url-status=live}}</ref>