Buttigieg praises FAA in wake of Alaska Airlines incident 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg complimented the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its leadership Wednesday following the midflight window panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines aircraft last week.

The “FAA’s doing a great job and Mike Whitaker’s doing a great job,” Buttigieg said in remarks complimenting the FAA administrator to reporters following a Transportation event, according to Politico.

The remarks come after Alaska Airlines announced earlier Wednesday that it would cancel all scheduled flights with Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft through Saturday, citing safety inspection delays.

“The safety of our employees and guests is our highest priority, and we will only return these aircraft to service when all findings have been fully resolved and meet all the FAA and Alaska’s stringent standards,” the airline said.

The FAA ordered the temporary grounding of 737 Max 9 planes Saturday in order to conduct close inspections. Buttigieg didn’t have updates for reporters on when the grounded planes would be returned to service, saying that the only timeline consideration was safety, and that “nobody can or should be rushing that process.”

Buttigieg’s concern for safety echoed the FAA administrator’s remarks earlier this week.

“Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the [National Transportation Safety Board’s] investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” Whitaker said, referring to the jet that experienced the issue Friday evening.