Democrats seek answers from Boeing, FAA after production issues with 737 Max, Dreamliner jets

Two top Democratic lawmakers on the House Transportation Committee are seeking answers from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following production issues with the Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner jets.

Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), chairman of the Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation, said in a statement that they are seeking records amid recent reports of electrical problems, foreign objects in debris of newly manufactured aircrafts and other quality control issues.

The lawmakers specifically said they were seeking records regarding “continued issues with the manufacture and production of Boeing commercial aircraft at facilities in both Washington state and South Carolina.”

A spokesperson for Boeing told The Hill that it received a letter from the lawmakers and is reviewing it.

The FAA told The Hill in a statement “We are reviewing Chair DeFazio’s and Rep. Larsen’s request and will make every effort to respond to them as quickly and completely as possible.”

The letter comes roughly one month after Boeing and the FAA asked more than a dozen airlines to remove more than 100 737 Max jets from service over a potential electrical issue.

United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines all removed the aircraft from service at the company’s request. Boeing said last week that the FAA approved a fix for the problem, CNBC reported at the time.

In March, the FAA said it was inspecting four Boeing Dreamliners after the company reported production issues with the jets in September.

DeFazio and Larsen initially began investigating in April 2019, one month after Boeing grounded all flights on the 737 Max jet after a pair of crashes killed 346 people total.

Their report, released in September, found “repeated and serious failures by both The Boeing Company (Boeing) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the 737 Max’s design process.”

The FAA cleared the aircraft for service in November.

Updated: 6 p.m.