FAA to strengthen oversight as Boeing set to resume 737 MAX production

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it will boost its oversight of Boeing as the planemaker prepares to resume production of its 737 MAX jets following a 53-day strike that ended earlier this week.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker spoke with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg this week and stressed the importance of Boeing using its system for managing safety risks as it resumes production, the agency said.

The FAA noted that it maintained its enhanced on-site presence at Boeing factories throughout the strike "and will further strengthen and target our oversight as the company begins its return-to-work plan." Boeing has not said yet when it plans to resume production, but workers do not have to return until Nov. 12.

About 33,000 machinists who work on the best-selling 737 MAX, as well as the 767 and 777 wide-body jets, agreed to end a strike that began on Sept. 13.

Boeing did not immediately comment on the matter.

Reuters has previously reported that Boeing is expected to resume production of the 737 MAX at a very gradual rate.

Whitaker capped production at 38 737 MAX planes per month in January after a door panel missing four key bolts flew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in midair that month, exposing serious safety issues at Boeing.

The FAA said last month that it was opening a new safety review into Boeing. In October, the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General criticized the FAA's oversight of Boeing.

An FAA audit of Boeing completed in February found 97 incidents of noncompliance, spanning "issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control."

Whitaker said in September that safety culture improvements at Boeing may take three to five years to accomplish and vowed to revamp the FAA's own safety management program. He said in June the agency had been "too hands-off" in its oversight of Boeing.

In September, a Senate panel investigating Boeing's culture faulted oversight by the FAA.