FAA revokes company’s repair certification after Lion Air 737 Max crash

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is revoking the repair station certificate of a Florida-based company that worked on a Boeing 737 Max plane that crashed last year, killing 189. 

The FAA said in a statement Friday that it was revoking the certificate of Xtra Aerospace, LLC, saying it did not comply with requirements to repair only aircraft parts listed on the FAA’s list of acceptable components.

{mosads}The FAA added that Xtra Aerospace also did not comply with procedures for “implementing a capability list.” 

“The investigation determined that from November 2009 until May 2019, Xtra failed to complete and retain records in accordance with procedures in its repair station manual to support parts on its capability list,” the FAA said in a statement. “The company also did not substantiate that it had adequate facilities, tools, test equipment, technical publications, and trained and qualified employees to repair parts on its capability list.”

Investigators from Indonesia released a report Friday that said both the repair job by Xtra Aerospace and a lack of FAA oversight had a role in the Lion Air crash that left 189 people dead last year. 

The FAA said the revocation is not directly related to the accident, but that the underlying issues are similar.

Xtra Aerospace said in a statement to The Hill Friday that the FAA’s action is separate from the Indonesia report. 

“We have been cooperating closely with the FAA throughout its investigation and though we have reached a settlement with the FAA, we respectfully disagree with the agency’s findings,” the company said. 

“Safety is central to all we do, and we will continue cooperating with the authorities. We would like to express our deep sadness and sympathy for all those who have lost loved ones in the Lion Air Flight 610 accident,” it continued. 

The report released Friday by the Indonesian investigators found that Xtra Aerospace had done a repair job on a Lion Air sensor that was miscalibrated and gave a false reading that resulted in the activation of the plane’s anti-stall system, according to Reuters. 

It also reportedly said the company’s lack of “written procedure” was not found by the FAA, showing  an “inadequacy of FAA oversight.”

“We welcome the recommendations from this report and will carefully consider these and all other recommendations,” the FAA said in a separate statement on the report.