WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday said it would reform how it certifies new aircraft in accordance with legislation passed by Congress after two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people.
Legislators approved comprehensive reforms in legislation signed by US President Donald Trump on Sunday that would increase FAA oversight of aircraft manufacturers, require the disclosure of critical safety information and provide new protection against whistleblowers.
The FAA said in a statement that it “will work to implement the changes according to Congress. The FAA is committed to continuously promoting aviation safety and improving our organization, processes and culture.”
Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican who chairs the trade committee, said in an opinion piece Monday that the law “will take steps to protect against manufacturers who put unnecessary pressure on employees during the certification process.”
Wicker added that the law “should help restore the safety culture in the FAA.”
A FAA survey released in August found that security workers reported having strong ‘external’ pressure from the industry and that the agency did not always prioritize air safety.
The FAA last month lifted the 20-month 737 MAX base. The MAX will resume US commercial passenger flights on Tuesday, when American Airlines will start flying the MAX on a Miami flight to New York.
The legislation requires an independent review of Boeing’s safety culture.
Boeing, which is facing an ongoing criminal investigation into the MAX, did not comment on the new law.
The FAA must report to Congress on the implementation of recommendations issued following the 737 MAX crashes.
“You can not legislate for cultural change, but we will certainly try to increase the security objectives,” Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate committee, said in an interview.
The law repeals rules that allow FAA employees to receive bonuses or other financial incentives based on compliance with manufacturing-driven certification schedules or quotas.
“We’re not going to pay people at the FAA to move planes faster,” Cantwell said. “It’s about fixing security.”
The law authorizes civil fines against supervisors of aviation manufacturers who interfere with employees acting on behalf of the FAA, and authorizes new resources for FAA to add key technical personnel and requires them to review pilot training.
The United States has not had a fatal crash in U.S. passenger aviation since February 2009 and only one fatal crash due to a U.S. crash in the U.S. passenger airline. The FAA attributed the decline in deaths in part “because the FAA set up robust information exchange programs in the aviation industry that encouraged openness.”
Reporting by David Shepardson; Edited by Stephen Coates