FAA Disputes Claim Of Unqualified Staff -- WSJ
April 06 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Andy Pasztor
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 6, 2019).
The acting chief of the Federal Aviation Administration has told
lawmakers there were no systemic problems with the qualifications
of key agency staff who helped establish pilot-training mandates
for Boeing Co.'s grounded 737 MAX jet.
In a letter Friday to the chairman of the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation, Daniel Elwell said all of the
FAA safety inspectors who served on an influential panel that set
such requirements -- called the Flight Standardization Board --
were "fully qualified for these activities."
This past week, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican
chairman of the committee, launched an investigation based on what
he described as whistleblower allegations that some of those
inspectors lacked the required qualifications for the task. The
whistleblower wasn't identified, and the committee declined to
provide details. But the committee set out to determine if the
upshot may have been inadequate training mandates for the
beleaguered Boeing plane, which went into service in 2017.
The 737 MAX was grounded world-wide last month in the wake of
the second fatal overseas crash of recent months.
The FAA response directly disputes the crux of those
whistleblower allegations. But in his letter, Mr. Elwell suggested
the agency continues to look into the qualifications and training
history of other FAA employees who supported the Flight
Standardization Board's efforts. Those officials also weren't
identified.
According to the acting FAA administrator's initial response to
Mr. Wicker, related claims by the same whistleblower were
substantiated and action already has been taken, based on an
internal FAA investigation that began last year. Those claims
include management retaliation against the whistleblower.
One of the results of the investigation was an FAA manager
leaving the agency, according to the letter. The letter also
suggests further personnel moves or administrative changes have
occurred or may be coming, though it doesn't elaborate.
The FAA also promised to provide a more comprehensive response
to lawmakers.
The issue of training for 737 MAX cockpit crews is significant
because both Boeing and plane's launch customer, Southwest Airlines
Co., were highly motivated to persuade the Flight Standardization
Board to approve the least possible training for pilots.
Ultimately the board, and the FAA's leadership at the time,
agreed that no additional ground-simulator training was necessary.
That decision, however, is now under scrutiny by lawmakers, federal
prosecutors and U.S Transportation Department officials in the wake
of the two fatal crashes.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 06, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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