WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday it would reform how it certifies new aircraft in accordance with legislation passed by Congress following two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people.
Lawmakers passed sweeping reforms to legislation signed into law by US President Donald Trump on Sunday that strengthens FAA oversight of aircraft manufacturers, requires disclosure of critical safety information, and provides new whistleblower protections.
The FAA said in a statement that it “will work to make the changes as mandated by Congress. The FAA is committed to continuous improvement of aviation safety and improving our organization, processes and culture. “
Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican who chairs the Trade Committee, said in an op-ed Monday that the law “will take steps to prevent manufacturers from putting undue pressure on employees during the certification process.”
Wicker added the law “should help restore the safety culture in the FAA.”
An FAA poll released in August found that some security personnel reported dealing with “strong” external pressure from the industry and alarmed that the agency does not always prioritize air safety.
The FAA removed the 737 MAX’s 20-month grounding last month. The MAX will resume commercial passenger flights from the US on Tuesday, when American Airlines begins flying the MAX on a flight from Miami to New York.
The legislation requires an independent evaluation of Boeing’s safety culture.
Boeing, which is facing an ongoing criminal investigation into the MAX, has not commented on the new law.
The FAA must report to Congress on the implementation of the recommendations made after the 737 MAX crash.
“You can’t legislate for cultural change, but we will certainly try to raise security goals,” Senator Maria Cantwell, the senior Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, said in an interview.
The law repeals rules that allow FAA employees to receive bonuses or other financial incentives based on compliance with manufacturer-led certification schemes or quotas.
“We’re not going to pay people at the FAA to move planes faster,” Cantwell said. “This is about proper security.”
The law allows civil sanctions against aviation manufacturer supervisors who hinder employees acting on behalf of the FAA, authorizes new resources for the FAA to add technically important personnel, and requires pilot training to be reviewed.
The United States has had no passenger jet fatal accident since February 2009 and only one fatality as a result of an accident involving a US passenger jet during that period. The FAA has partially attributed the fall in fatalities “because the FAA has established robust information-sharing programs in the aviation industry that encourage disclosure.”
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Stephen Coates