WASHINGTON, Aug 7 - Federal Aviation Administration safety employees reported facing “strong” external pressure from industry and raised alarms the agency does not always prioritize air safety, according to an independent survey seen by Reuters on Friday.
The report found employees believe aviation safety leaders” painted ‘too rosy of a picture’” after the 737 MAX crashes “and did not acknowledge the needed changes to FAA safety-related policies and processes.” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who took over in August2019, said in a letter to Congress on Friday, adding the agency is moving to create a Voluntary Safety Reporting Program - a confidential “non-punitive environment that encourages open reporting of aviation safety issues and concerns.”
“Many reported that industry will escalate issues to senior leadership and/or Congress if FAA employees are perceived as ‘getting in their way,’” which directly leads to decisions that are friendlier to industry ,” the survey added. The MAX has been grounded since March 2019 after two crashes in five months, in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killed 346 people.Several reports have raised concerns about Boeing Co employees performing FAA certification tasks facing undue pressure.