Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday that the United States' aviation safety record “can never be taken for granted” following recent problems with Boeing planes.
“[W]”We will never take U.S. aviation's safety record for granted,” Buttigieg said. said in an interview on MSNBC. “The amazing fact is that you, sitting on a plane right now, watching this show, watching this interview, sitting watching this interview, are safer than almost any other situation we can imagine. That’s the thing.”
The secretary's comments came after an incident on Thursday in which a Boeing 747 cargo plane was seen bursting into flames in the sky shortly after takeoff. The plane was able to make an emergency landing at Miami International Airport, where it had taken off.
The incident follows an “explosive depressurization” on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, earlier this month, which blew off a panel blocking an unused emergency exit door on a Boeing 737 Max 9. This follows the accident. In flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday that it is expanding an investigation it launched in response to the Alaska Airlines incident.
“After taking decisive action to ground 171 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, the FAA is now investigating Boeing's manufacturing practices and production lines, including its subcontractor Spirit Aerosystems, and is increasing its oversight of Boeing. We are strengthening the system and considering possible changes to the system,” the bureau said. In a statement.
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The FAA announced last week that it would increase oversight of Boeing's production, including auditing Boeing's production. “The grounding of the 737-9 and production-related issues identified in recent years require us to consider all options to reduce risk,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.
“The FAA is considering the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing's inspection and quality systems,” Whitaker said in the release.
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