Trump FAA Nominee Bryan Bedford Vows To Hold Boeing Accountable On Safety

Bryan Bedford, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has vowed to hold Boeing Co. (BA) accountable when it comes to safety.

Boeing’s shares were down more than 1% at the time of writing.

During a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, the Republic Airways CEO said the FAA had learned “some really hard lessons” after the two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 Max jet that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, according to a Reuters report.

While vowing to hold Boeing “accountable to deliver a high-quality product safely,” Bedford argued that the airplane maker could also be helped rather than just blamed for failures.

“We can collaborate and tell them where the failures are and how we view remedies that can help Boeing move the process along a little bit quicker,” he said.

As for the FAA’s certification processes, which have led to delays in Boeing’s manufacturing timelines, Bedford said he will work on improving them.

This comes after FAA’s acting head, Chris Rocheleau, said last week that the production cap on Boeing 737 Max will stay in place.

At the moment, this limit is set to thirty-eight 737 Max jets per month.

He also said the agency is not considering relaxing the inspection norms for Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner jets – the FAA currently inspects all these jets itself before issuing airworthiness certificates for individual planes, rather than delegating it to Boeing.

A day later, Boeing revealed that it reached a $1.1 billion deal with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to avoid criminal prosecution over the two 737 Max crashes.

The company has earmarked $444.5 million for the families of 737 Max crash victims. It also said it will invest $445 million in enhancing its compliance, safety, and quality programs.

It has also paid $243 million as a criminal penalty that it agreed to in 2021.

Boeing’s stock is up nearly 20% year-to-date and almost 12% over the past 12 months.

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