The chairman of the Federal Aviation Administration intimated that more 737 MAX 9 aircraft production is not imminent when he stated on Thursday that the company has not yet received approval to increase production.
Following a three-hour meeting with Boeing, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told reporters at a press conference on Thursday that the agency does not anticipate approving an increase in production, at least not for the next several months.
“We don’t have a time frame, but I don’t think it will happen in the next few months,” Whitaker stated.
As of right now, Boeing is not producing as many 737 MAXs as it was supposed to after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight in midair in early January.
In February, Whitaker gave Boeing instructions to create a thorough action plan that would reassure regulators that the business had sufficiently addressed safety issues in production procedures.
Whitaker stated that the FAA examined “Boeing’s roadmap to set a new standard of safety and underscored that they must follow through on corrective actions and effectively transform their safety culture.”
In the upcoming months, the FAA intends to maintain tighter monitoring of the troubled aircraft maker and its suppliers.
“This does not mark the end of our increased oversight of Boeing and its suppliers, but it sets a new standard of how Boeing does business,” he stated.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated that Boeing have a safety management system as part of the improvements being made. The government claims that this system “will ensure a structured, repeatable, systematic approach to identify hazards and manage risk.”
For example, Boeing and senior FAA officials will meet once a week to discuss performance metrics, progress, and any issues that may arise. Monthly reviews will also be carried out to assess Boeing’s advancement.