Regulator believes 'other manufacturing problems' exist at Boeing after in-flight cabin blowout
Alaska Airlines jet made emergency landing last week after a panel broke off
The U.S. aviation regulator said on Friday it will intensify oversight of Boeing after a panel broke off a new jet in mid-flight, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Mike Whitaker said the agency believes there are "other manufacturing problems" at the planemaker.
The FAA said in a statement it will conduct a new audit of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 production line and its suppliers. An Alaska Airlines jet had to make a dramatic emergency landing a week ago after the panel broke off.
Whitaker told CNBC the new MAX 9 airplane that had the mid-air emergency had "significant problems" and noted Boeing's past history of production issues.
"We know there are problems with manufacturing, there have been problems in the past. But these are continuing and the aircraft was three months old," Whitaker said of the Alaska airplane. "We believe there are other manufacturing problems as well."
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights since Saturday with the 737 MAX 9 planes grounded.
A series of events has shaken confidence in Boeing since a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed nearly 350 people.
Boeing did not immediately comment but said Thursday it would "co-operate fully and transparently with the FAA and the NTSB on their investigations."
On Wednesday, CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged on CNBC that there was a "quality" issue in allowing the MAX 9 to fly with the problem that caused the blowout.
On Thursday, the FAA announced a formal investigation into the panel blowout. The agency has also grounded 171 airplanes with the same configuration and said the results of the audit "will determine whether additional audits are necessary."
The FAA said it would also reexamine its decision to delegate some responsibilities to Boeing and consider moving some functions under independent, third-party entities.
"The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk," Whitaker said in a statement.
Whitaker declined to put any timetable on whether the FAA might approve the inspection and maintenance instructions that would allow airlines to begin returning MAX 9 planes to service.
Talks between Boeing, the FAA and airlines ended for the day on Thursday without agreement on the instructions from Boeing that the regulator must approve before airlines can resume flying the planes.
The Alaska Airlines aircraft, which had been in service for just eight weeks, took off from Portland, Oregon last Friday and was flying at 4,900 metres when the panel tore off the plane. Pilots returned the jet to Portland, with only minor injuries suffered by passengers.
Alaska and United, the other major U.S. carrier that operates 737 MAX 9 planes with that configuration, said they have found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft during preliminary checks.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said he was confident Boeing would learn from the incident. "Boeing will continue to provide Delta as well as our industry with a great product going forward," he said. Delta does not have MAX 9 in its fleet.
U.S. Senate commerce committee chair Maria Cantwell, who had urged the FAA in January 2023 to conduct a new Boeing audit, said Thursday recent accidents and incidents "call into question Boeing's quality control."
The FAA said in March it was ramping up oversight of Boeing and said then it had 107 full-time staff members providing regulatory oversight on Boeing, up from 82 a couple of years ago.