WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has requested the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a root cause analysis of its oversight of aviation manufacturers, according to an announcement from Cantwell’s office. 

In a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, Cantwell said she had serious concerns about the FAA's audits of Boeing and its suppliers, questioning whether the results indicate ongoing production issues or ineffective regulatory oversight.  

"While the FAA has rightly focused on Boeing’s production quality shortcomings, I am concerned about whether FAA action — or inaction — contributed to Boeing’s problems,” Cantwell said in the letter. “As the Committee’s 2021 Whistleblower Report detailed, Boeing took full advantage of the FAA’s policies in support of ‘efficiency’ at the expense of regulatory compliance. The report made it clear that the FAA ‘trusted’ Boeing to comply, despite years of evidence to the contrary.” 

The letter, sent July 27, follows recent incidents such as the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident in January, where a door plug created by Boeing blew out in mid-air resulting in three injuries. This prompted Cantwell to request a special technical audit of Boeing's production line, according to the announcement. The audit revealed multiple instances where Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages for Boeing’s planes, failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements. 

“We will respond directly to the senator,” Donnell Evans, Public Affairs Specialist of FAA said in answer to a request for comment on the matter.  

Boeing also refused to give comment but did send prior statements made by Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun and Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope.  

In that statement, following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident, Boeing has submitted a comprehensive Product Safety and Quality Plan to the FAA. 

Calhoun is stepping down as CEO of the aircraft manufacturer at the end of this year, according to an announcement from the company.  

The plan listed on the press release includes containment and mitigation actions taken immediately after the accident, new key performance indicators for production system health, and initiatives in seven areas including safety management, simplifying processes, supplier defect reduction, employee training, production system compliance, engagement and communication and installation plan improvements.  

In May, Cantwell was a sponsor of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which includes measures to improve aviation safety, such as putting more safety inspectors on factory floors, addressing air traffic controller shortages and enhancing aircraft certification reforms. These measures build upon the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act of 2020, passed in response to the Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. 

In her letter to Whitaker, Cantwell emphasized the importance of conducting a root cause analysis to identify deficiencies in the FAA's oversight of aviation manufacturers. She requested that the FAA develop corrective actions and a plan for implementing them and report back to the Committee on its findings. 

“FAA’s effective regulatory oversight is key to ensure Boeing, other aviation manufacturers and the United States remain the gold standard for aviation safety,” Cantwell said in the letter. “To this end, we believe it critical for FAA to undertake this process of self-evaluation.”