LM Otero/AP Photo
American Airlines pilot Capt. Pete Gamble, left, and first officer John Konstanzer conduct a preflight check in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX jet before taking off from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, December 2, 2020.
Two years ago, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (ACSAA), legislation drafted as a response to the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that left 346 dead. The bipartisan legislation strengthened the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aircraft certification process with more stringent transparency requirements.
But the key provision relevant today is a December 27 deadline, requiring airplane manufacturers to upgrade their cockpit safety system, as approved by the FAA. In the MAX crashes, Boeing concealed the changes to their plane using software and disabled a cockpit light that would have alerted pilots to a faulty sensor reading. The congressional provision was specifically created to rectify this, the very issue that caused the fatal accidents in late 2018 and early 2019, which led to a 20-month grounding of the 737 MAX.
With that deadline around the corner, Boeing has upped its lobbying game to request an extension from Congress. Even as other aircraft manufacturers have met the deadline, Boeing claims that a so-called “commonality” alerting system for pilots, which would bridge between the older and newer alert systems, is preferable.
William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told the Prospect in response to Boeing’s argument, “It’s very weak … The bottom line is, this is a safety issue and it’s incumbent on the FAA to ensure that we don’t have any kind of a repeat of what happened with those two fatal crashes.”
In the end, the reprieve is up to Congress, and Boeing knows this. The company originally tried including the deadline extension provision as a part of the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Lobbying disclosures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show that Boeing lobbyists were working heavily on the NDAA; overall, Boeing has spent over $9 million on lobbying so far in 2022.
Amid earlier negotiations, families and friends of the Boeing victims sent a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jack Reed (D-RI), and James Inhofe (R-OK) opposing an NDAA amendment that included an extension: “Such an amendment is not relevant to national defense and would make civilian aircraft less [safe] … We have heard industry insiders and Boeing claim that some pilots want commonality between old and new aircraft alert systems. Those same insiders were a part of the problem before, and are motivated by profits.”
Boeing’s efforts failed, despite Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) indicating that she would be open to extending the deadline with additional safety requirements. Cantwell presides over the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, an important one in the eyes of the company. Cantwell’s office did not respond to the Prospect’s questions regarding what such additional safety requirements would look like. Cantwell’s office also did not respond to questions about why Boeing should be granted an exception if other aircraft manufacturers have met the December 27 deadline.
Cantwell’s light-handed approach to Boeing is reminiscent of her predecessor, former Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA), who earned the notorious moniker “the senator from Boeing.” While in Jackson’s time, the company was still located in Seattle, in 2001 Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago. The Netflix film Downfall: The Case Against Boeing explained how the move was seen as distancing the business end from the manufacturing side. Now the company is once again moving its headquarters from Chicago to Northern Virginia, putting themselves closer to the Washington bonanza.
A report detailed how Boeing’s desire to beat out its largest competitor, Airbus, powered the company’s decision to circumvent critical safety measures.
IN THE DWINDLING DAYS of the lame-duck session, with only a must-pass government spending bill on the docket, the company is again trying to jam a deadline extension. Exacerbated by outside business pressures from the airline industry, Boeing is working double time to secure a congressional reprieve. “I don’t underestimate the huge cost factor here,” McGee said. “Boeing is saying they can’t make it, well, that’s on Boeing.”
During the NDAA negotiations, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said, “Now Boeing is seeking certification from the FAA of the Boeing 737 MAX-10, which will not have an advanced flight crew alerting system—a system that became an industry standard in 1982 and is on every current Airbus and Boeing model under production except for the 737s. The aircraft certification bill gave the FAA a two-year grace period to certify aircraft without the advanced flight crew alerting system, but that grace period should not be extended.”
The Prospect asked DeFazio’s office for comment regarding an extension attached to a government spending bill. They did not directly address a government spending bill, but pointed back to the previous statement, saying that DeFazio’s stance had not changed.
In the wake of the two fatal crashes, DeFazio led the investigation into Boeing. The result was an 18-month ordeal and a 238-page report that detailed how the company operated under a “culture of concealment.” That culture, layered onto Boeing’s immense influence over the FAA oversight structure, created several points of conflicted interests where the company’s production pressures outweighed its duty to provide safe aircraft design and performance.
Specifically, the report detailed how Boeing’s desire to beat out its largest competitor, Airbus, powered the company’s decision to circumvent critical safety measures. Two years later, that dynamic is playing out. On Tuesday, United Airlines announced that it had ordered at least 200 Boeing airplanes, a deal worth tens of billions of dollars. If that deal falls through, it’s likely that United will fill up its lost orders with Airbus. Although United has said it’s choosing Boeing over Airbus, the airline has already committed to receiving dozens of Airbus planes in 2030.
Another leading voice from the Boeing investigation, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), opposed granting Boeing an extension. His office did not respond to a request for comment regarding a deadline extension to a government spending bill.
Former Boeing pilot Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) did not respond to the Prospect’s questions about whether or not Congress should extend the December 27 deadline.
Elsewhere in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi could publicly commit to not including a deadline extension for Boeing as part of a government spending bill. But so far, she has not said anything on the matter. Pelosi’s office did not respond to the Prospect’s inquiry of whether or not she supported granting an extension or if it would be included as part of a government spending bill.
As Congress considers kicking the can down the road, pressure from within the federal government can be exerted. So far, that has not been the case. “The fact is the FAA [acting] administrator, and therefore the [Department of Transportation] secretary,” McGee said, “have tremendous authority and leeway to act on safety issues.” That could be as simple as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg using the bully pulpit, calling on Congress to not allow a deadline extension. McGee continued: “[Secretary Buttigieg] can speak out on this and he hasn’t to my knowledge.”
In 2021, the AP reported that Buttigieg had met with the families of Boeing crash victims and expressed sympathy, while stating that the FAA needed to put in effect the changes mandated by the ACSAA.
In the weeks leading up to the December 27 deadline, Buttigieg has instead opted for media appearances. In late October, Buttigieg went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a softball interview on “Why Fixing America’s Infrastructure Is Fun and Exciting.” And in early December, he joined Boeing and Airbus CEOs at President Biden’s first official state dinner.
At time of press, both the FAA and DOT acknowledged the Prospect’s request for comment. Then the FAA provided a statement, which DOT said served as their own as well: “Only Congress can modify the law that requires a new flight crew alerting system after Dec. 27.”
“How much this is gonna cost [Boeing], that’s irrelevant to the safety issue,” McGee said. “The bottom line is the deadline is the deadline. It was supposed to be done, and it hasn’t been.”
