© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Latam Airlines plane takes off from Miami International Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had reduced the volume of plane traffic over Florida due to an air traffic computer problem, in Miami, Florida, USA Jan.
By David Sheparson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Federal Aviation Administration safety official, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and the head of the largest pilots union are among those set to testify before Congress on February 7.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing “Improving America’s Gold Standard in Aviation Safety” comes amid increased scrutiny from the FAA after a computer glitch last month last led to the first national shutdown since the attacks of September 11, 2001 and disrupted more than 11,000 flights. .
FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety David Boulter, NTSB President Jennifer Homendy, Air Line Pilots Association President Jason Ambrosi, National Business Aviation Association CEO, Ed Bolen and General Aviation Manufacturers Association CEO Pete Bunce are among the witnesses, the committee said Wednesday.
Lawmakers are considering possible reforms to the FAA before the September 30 deadline to reauthorize the agency.
“The FAA is running on autopilot. It can only run on autopilot until it runs out of gas, wakes up, and is over Utah,” said Rep. Sam Graves, a Republican who chairs the transportation panel.
Billy Nolen, the chief of aviation security, has been acting administrator of the FAA since April 1, when Steve Dickson left in the middle of his five-year term. The Senate Commerce Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on President Joe Biden’s FAA nominee who has been criticized by Republicans. Nolen declined to respond to Graves’ criticism.
After two fatal Boeing (NYSE:) 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, Congress passed sweeping legislation to reform the way the FAA certifies new planes.
Lawmakers said in a 2020 report that “the FAA failed in its oversight of Boeing and its certification of the aircraft.” Last month, the FAA appointed two dozen experts to review Boeing’s safety management processes and safety culture.
On Friday, the FAA told lawmakers it made changes to prevent a repeat of the computer outage that led to the Jan. 11 arrest.
