The FAA on Tuesday said it would not allow Boeing to self-certify individual new Boeing 787 planes.
Outgoing FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told a small group of reporters on the sidelines of an event Thursday that the agency needs from Boeing "a systemic fix to their production processes. They've got to produce the quality on their production line that we're looking for and that they've committed to."
The FAA said Tuesday it will retain the authority to issue airworthiness certificates until it is confident "Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards."
Dickson said retaining certification authority "will increase the confidence we have in the stability of their processes because we will actually be there looking at the results of each airplane as it comes off the line.
"I think they are putting processes in place and we're working with them to make sure that this kind of random quality issues don't come up," he said. The FAA approval of individual airplanes "is not going to be a choke point but it's going to give an additional check and balance."
Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 in late May after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. The regulatory agency had issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for in-service airplanes and identified a new issue in July.
Via Reuters
