The U.S. Department of Transportation will form a special committee
to review the procedures used by the FAA for the certification of new aircraft.
Retired Air Force Gen. Darren McDew and former Air Line
Pilots Association president Lee Moak will serve as interim co-chairs until the
full committee is seated, the DOT said Monday. The committee is to be made up a
diverse group of aviation industry stakeholders that will present its findings
directly to the heads of the DOT and FAA.
Formation of the committee follows the worldwide grounding
of Boeing 737 Max aircraft. There are concerns that the FAA is too cozy with
Boeing and has turned over too much of the certification review process to the
aircraft manufacturer.
U.S. House transportation committee chairman Peter DeFazio
(D-Ore.) has already said he will conduct hearings to examine the relationship
between Boeing and the FAA as well as the FAA's process for approving new
aircraft types. And DOT secretary Elaine Chao has asked the department's
inspector general to conduct an audit of the FAA's certification process for
the 737 Max.
"Safety is the number one priority of the department,
and this review by leading outside experts will help determine if improvements
can be made to the FAA aircraft certification process," Chao said in a
prepared remark.