FAA Admin: Boeing 737 MAX Production on Hold

DALLAS — Boeing has not resumed producing 737 MAX airplanes a month after the IAM machinists union strike ended, but plans to begin later this month, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker.

Reuters reports that as part of the oversight boost, Whitaker met with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and toured the 737 plant in Renton, Washington, where the narrow-body aircraft are produced. Whitaker said Boeing’s plan is to restart production slowly later this month and plans another meeting in January. “They’re focused on their workforce, training, and supply chain,” said the current head of the FAA.

For the MAX production to resume, Whitaker expects Boeing to adopt an effective Safety Management System (SMS) with "policies and procedures to proactively identify and address potential operational hazards" in the hopes of having the right inspection points in place. The SMS would make sure, for example, that Spirit AeroSystems delivers complete work.

At the end of April, Ed Clark, who headed up Boeing’s 737 MAX program in the post-pandemic period, stepped down after nearly 18 years at the company. Katie Ringgold succeeded Clark as Vice President and General Manager of the Boeing 737 program and the Renton factory.

Further Comments from FAA Administrator

In an exclusive broadcast interview with NBC Nightly News, Whitaker responded to a question on whether Boeing is too big to fail, telling anchor Lester Holt, “Well, I think I would say that they failed. And I think if you look at what happened in January, that was a failure and they are going through a pretty substantial reset. They have the resources to do this reset and rebuild in a much higher quality, safer manner. And that’s this process.”

During the sit-down, Whitaker also spoke about runway incursions and near misses, telling Holt: “Well I think it's actually been pretty significant improvement, but it's still too much. So these close calls need to be completely eliminated.”

Additionally, when asked by the anchor whether he will remain as FAA administrator, Whitaker responded, “I’m just now in discussions with the transition team, my focus has been on keeping the work going and keeping the skies safe and keeping the workforce focused on our mission. But those, those discussions are early on, so no decision at this point.”

The interview airs tonight on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT. Click here to watch the exchange.