Inspector General to audit FAA’s oversight of Boeing 737, 787 production

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The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General (DOT OIG) recently announced it will audit in July the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) oversight of Boeing’s production of 737 and 787 aircrafts.

The audit will be conducted at FAA Headquarters and its regional offices responsible for overseeing Boeing production and any relevant Boeing locations.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chairman, and Rick Larsen (D-WA) Subcommittee on Aviation chairman requested the audit in February.

“We expect FAA and Boeing to fully cooperate with, and support, the DOT OIG’s audit. Our committee has repeatedly raised serious concerns with these persistent and unacceptable problems — particularly at the non-union facility in South Carolina,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “This audit should be thorough and unsparing to help prevent a repeat of safety issues previously identified by FAA and to ensure the manufacture and production of safe aircraft.”

The audit will identify and resolve production issues, and address allegations of undue pressure within the production environment.

Multiple complaints have been raised regarding the production of the Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft since 2019. These concern production deficiencies and quality issues.

The FAA mandated inspections on certain previously delivered 787 aircraft because of missed requirements during assembly.