By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it would extend by three years a program that allows Boeing to perform some tasks on the agency’s behalf like inspections, saying the planemaker had made improvements.
In May 2022, the agency agreed to renew Boeing’s Organization Designation Authorization — known as ODA — program for three years rather than the five Boeing had asked for to ensure the planemaker implemented “required improvements.”
Before making the decision to again extend the ODA program, FAA said it had “closely monitored specific criteria and saw improvements in most areas,” adding that it “will continue to closely monitor Boeing’s performance throughout its renewal period.”
The program allows an independent unit within Boeing to perform FAA-delegated tasks like inspections and approving repairs.
A report last year said there were more than 1,000 workers who performed tasks on behalf of the FAA in engineering, manufacturing and administrative functions.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, Democratic U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington told Reuters the FAA should address critical concerns before deciding whether to extend the program.
Boeing’s quality and safety efforts have faced harsh criticism since a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that was missing four key bolts.
Then-FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker in February 2024 ordered Boeing to implement a safety and quality improvement plan and acknowledged that prior oversight “was too hands off.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in March that Boeing needs strict oversight.
After the 2024 incident, the FAA took the unprecedented step of imposing a production cap of 38 planes per month on the 737 MAX, which remains in place.
The FAA in 2022 set one requirement before allowing a new program extension, that ODA employees can “act without interference by company officials.”
Congress passed sweeping reforms in December 2020 on how the FAA certifies new airplanes after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and led to the plane’s 20-month grounding.
The FAA continues to inspect all Boeing 737 MAXs and 787 Dreamliners before issuing airworthiness certificates for individual planes, rather than delegating those tasks to Boeing.
The Office of Inspector General said FAA officials in 2023 sought to allow Boeing’s ODA to resume issuing final airworthiness certificates for 737 and 787s. Before FAA senior officials could approve the request, the Alaska mid-air emergency occurred.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Bill Berkrot)
