NEED FOR SPEED: Concerns about the FAA’s strategy of delegating much of its regulatory oversight to employees at the companies it oversees are being amplified in the wake of the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in recent months, our Kathryn A. Wolfe and Brianna Gurciullo report. One of the key problems is speed: Boeing wanted the plane in the air as fast as possible, and the FAA is “not designed for speedy decision-making,” lobbyist Peter Goelz said. The FAA’s delegation program, repeatedly approved by Congress, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon: The agency doesn’t have the resources to replace Boeing inspectors with its own. But government watchdogs have repeatedly expressed worries about how thoroughly the FAA is supervising private employees acting on its behalf.
