Ted Cruz Calls Out The FAA For Failing To Properly Oversee Boeing & Their 'Serious Production Gaps'

4 months ago

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke about the FAA under Administrator Michael Whitaker at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing earlier this month.

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Transcript

00:00I appreciate you holding today's hearing on this critically important topic, FAA's oversight of aviation manufacturers.

00:11I want to thank Administrator Whitaker for appearing before us today, especially as his agency is busy implementing

00:17the bipartisan, bicameral FAA Reauthorization Act that this committee authored and passed just last month.

00:25Our crucial bipartisan legislation gives the FAA much-needed long-term stability and allows it to refocus on its primary mission,

00:34the safety of our national aviation system.

00:38It directs the FAA to conduct risk-based inspections of manufacturers, like Boeing, to ensure that there is no repeat of the Alaska Airlines incident.

00:49Further, it provides FAA with important tools for developing a workforce with the technical know-how necessary to overseeing complex aircraft manufacturers.

01:01And it includes key protections for whistleblowers, who play an important role in the aviation system, so that employees can speak out freely when raising safety concerns.

01:12On January 5th of this year, just minutes into its trip, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced a rapid cabin decompression at 16,000 feet, when a plug door flew off the plane.

01:29Thankfully, miraculously, the pilots landed the plane safely with no critical injuries.

01:38We are very fortunate that no passengers were seated in the seat next to the plug door, and the plane was still climbing to its cruising altitude.

01:47Had either of these factors been different, the results would have been catastrophic.

01:53The aircraft in question was a Boeing 737 MAX 9, delivered to Alaska Airlines just a few months prior.

02:01For many of us, it raised concerns once again of the safety of Boeing aircraft.

02:10In the weeks that followed, the NTSB accident investigation and the FAA's audit discovered unsettling details about Boeing's production lines.

02:20Reports from airlines of untightened bolts, or overtightened bolts, on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have borne the phrase from passengers,

02:34if it's a Boeing, I ain't going.

02:38That's not good.

02:40Even more alarming, NTSB stated the reason the plug door flew off the aircraft was because an employee at the Boeing facility opened the plug door and forgot to put the bolts back in.

02:55Such a fundamental lapse in the production line is inexcusable and should never have happened.

03:01I was very glad to see that the FAA took swift action to ground the 737 MAX after the accident.

03:07However, I remain concerned that the FAA's oversight of Boeing failed to spot serious production gaps.

03:17The FAA, through their oversight of manufacturers, is responsible for ensuring that when a passenger gets on a plane, he or she can have the utmost confidence in that plane's safety.

03:31The FAA must guarantee that not only are they certifying that an aircraft is safely designed, but that the manufacturer is building them to that safe design.

03:43Clearly, that was not always happening at Boeing.

03:47Today, we're going to hear from Administrator Whitaker on what actions the FAA is taking to ensure their oversight of Boeing's production prevents further mishaps.

03:58I'm interested in hearing his impressions of Boeing's actions in response to the FAA's audits of the Boeing production line.

04:08It is clear that the safety culture at Boeing needs to be reinforced, something that doesn't happen overnight.

04:15I look forward to hearing on the FAA's long-term efforts to ensure that Boeing is following through on its improvement plan.

04:25The safety of the flying public is vital, and it is our job to ensure the FAA and Boeing are taking safety responsibilities seriously.

04:38I hope that we will hear directly from Boeing about how they are going to address production failures.

04:45I understand that Boeing's CEO, Dave Calhoun, will be appearing very soon before the U.S. Senate.

04:54But I'm disappointed it will not be before this committee.

04:58We have a responsibility as the Committee of Jurisdiction for Civil Aviation to conduct oversight on these matters.

05:07And I trust that we will hear very soon from Boeing's senior leadership.

05:13Boeing is a great American company, and it is critically important for our nation that Boeing remain strong and continue producing excellent aircraft.

05:29These safety lapses have caused serious questions in the flying public about the safety of Boeing's planes.

05:37And it is critical for Boeing, it's critical for the FAA, and it's critical for this committee that those safety lapses be corrected and corrected promptly.

05:49Thank you.

Ted Cruz Calls Out The FAA For Failing To Properly Oversee Boeing & Their 'Serious Production Gaps'

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