Senator wants Boeing CEO to testify as she prepares new FAA legislation

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said on Thursday she has asked Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to appear before her committee as she prepares legislation that would boost Federal Aviation Administration oversight of planemakers.

Calhoun appeared before another Senate committee on June 19, but Cantwell told reporters she expects the outgoing chief executive will also appear for a future hearing before her committee. She said it might need to wait until the National Transportation Safety Board holds an investigating hearing Aug. 6-7 on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 mid-air emergency.

"Our job here is why did the FAA drop the ball? What is it that we have to do to ensure that the FAA does its job?" Cantwell said. The FAA and Boeing did not immediately comment.

Cantwell said she will also soon release proposed FAA legislation to require the agency to use safety management systems (SMS) and that there is a question about why the FAA did not have a more robust system. "It's really important to have an oversight system that does work," Cantwell said.

Last month, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told the committee the agency was "too hands off" in oversight of Boeing before a mid-air emergency in a new 737 MAX 9, acknowledging inadequate oversight in the Jan. 5 incident in which a door panel blew out during the flight.

In April, the FAA said it was finalizing new rules requiring charter, commuter, air tour operators and aircraft manufacturers to implement SMS systems.

SMS systems are sets of policies and procedures to proactively identify and address potential operational hazards. U.S. airlines have been required to have SMS since 2018 and some aerospace companies, such as Boeing, already voluntarily have SMS programs.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Rod Nickel)