Inside the Alaska Airlines Midair Failure | February 2024

February 2024 | Volume 15, Issue 7

Watch the full video and find the accompanying article from ABC News.

According to the article, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it will take the significant step of increasing its oversight over Boeing and begin an immediate audit of Boeing's production and manufacturing in the wake of the door plug blowing out of an Alaska Airlines flight recently.

The audit will "evaluate Boeing's compliance with its approved quality procedures," the agency said.

The FAA’s Review of ODA

The FAA said it will also assess the safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight -- specifically the Organization Designation Authorization program. Under ODA, certain aircraft certification processes are delegated to manufacturers like Boeing.

The door plug for the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max 9 fell off a few minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport on January 5, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above ground. No one was seriously injured, and the plane landed safely.

The Possibility of Third-Party Oversight

FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said the agency is "exploring" the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing's inspections and quality system.

"It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks," Whitaker said. "The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk."

The FAA’s Increased Oversight

The FAA outlined three points of increased oversight: an audit involving the Boeing 737 Max 9 production line and its suppliers; increased monitoring of Boeing 737 Max in-service events; and an assessment of safety risks around "delegated authority and quality oversight and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities."

The announcement came one day after the FAA said it would investigate Boeing after the door plug incident.

Responses from Boeing and Its Parts Supplier

Boeing said in a recent statement regarding the investigation that the company "will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the NTSB on their investigations."

Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing's parts supplier, said of the increased FAA scrutiny, "Spirit AeroSystems is committed to supporting the FAA's audit of production and manufacturing processes to ensure compliance with the FAA Quality Management System. As a trusted partner to our customers, Spirit's top priorities are quality, product integrity and compliance."

Boeing said it "welcome[s]" the FAA's increased oversight and will "cooperate fully and transparently with" the agency.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident. The door plug has arrived at its lab in Washington, D.C., where it will undergo further testing to determine why it was expelled mid-flight.

Planes Grounded and Flights Canceled

The FAA grounded approximately 171 Boeing 737-9 Max planes following the door plug incident.

The agency said Boeing needs to provide additional data before the agency approves the instructions for inspections needed to bring the grounded planes back to the sky.

The FAA said Boeing needs to conduct plug-door inspections of 40 aircraft -- data from those tests will then be passed onto the FAA which will make a final determination if the inspections are sufficient for airlines to begin their reviews of impacted planes.

"We are working to make sure nothing like this happens again," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement. "Our only concern is the safety of American travelers and the Boeing 737-9 MAX will not return to the skies until we are entirely satisfied it is safe."

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

United has announced that it has canceled all Boeing 737 Max 9 flights through January 16.

"By cancelling this far in advance, we're trying to create more certainty for our customers and more flexibility for our frontline teams to do their work," the airline said in a statement. "Those things will be especially important as we also manage disruptive winter weather throughout much of the country."

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
   The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a U.S. government administrative agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in the United States and surrounding international waters. It was established by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. According to its website (www.faa.gov), the FAA plays an instrumental part in “(p)roviding the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.”
2. What is the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program? As referenced in the article, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said the agency is "exploring" the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing's inspections and quality system. Do you support the use of an independent third party to oversee airplane inspections and quality systems? Why or why not?
   As indicated in the article, under the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program, certain certification processes are delegated to manufacturers like Boeing. Considering recent safety concerns regarding the Boeing 737-9 Max airplane, the FAA is reassessing the ODA program to determine the relationship between such delegated authority and quality oversight (or the lack thereof).
   
   Your author has never been a “fan” of self-policing, particularly since history is figuratively littered with examples of individuals and/or organizations that have committed illegal and/or immoral acts when left to self-regulate. The prospect of using an independent third party to oversee airplane manufacturer inspections and quality systems sounds interesting, but obviously, strict measures would have to be adopted to ensure that the independent third party is well-qualified in terms of being a subject matter and procedural expert. Your author would be even more encouraged if the FAA itself engaged in such oversight, but obviously, that would involve substantial additional funds to expand FAA personnel.
3. Are you confident that if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Chevron doctrine (see Article 1 of this newsletter) and the FAA’s oversight powers are weakened as a result, the U.S. Congress will “fill the void” in terms of addressing airplane safety? Explain your response.
   This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. A rhetorical question seems appropriate at this point: How could Congress possibly “fill the void?” In your author’s opinion, the answer to that question would be a definitive “no,” given the lack of qualified personnel within the halls of Congress. In your author’s view, this article again underscores the tremendously important role that federal administrative agencies play in the machinations of substantive and actual governance.