Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says the Federal Aviation Administration should have acted faster to ground Boeing’s 737 Max jets after a fatal crash in Ethiopia.
“The FAA was one of the last regulatory bodies across the world to ground this fleet. I think that raises concerns,” Cruz told Yahoo Finance in an interview ahead of a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday examining the crash in Ethiopia and one in Indonesia last October.
Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt, and the Department of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Scovel will testify before the aviation subcommittee, which Cruz chairs.
Lawmakers will likely ask the witnesses about the decision to ground the 737 Max jets. Cruz said his goal is to find out what caused the crashes and determine how future crashes can be prevented. He also wants to examine the regulatory process that led to the FAA’s approval of the 737 Max jets.
“There have been multiple reports about how Boeing was intimately involved in the approval of the 737 Maxes. And I expect the committee to be asking the FAA about is it ceding too much responsibility to a private party with financial interest rather than carrying out its own responsibility to ensure the safety of the flying public,” said Cruz.
Lawmakers and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao have asked the DOT inspector general to audit the approval process for the 737 Max jets.
The Department of Transportation has also announced a special committee to review the FAA’s aircraft approval process.
‘Cronyism in Washington’
Boeing and the FAA have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the two deadly 737 Max crashes — and critics have raised concerns about the relationship between Boeing and Washington. Cruz told Yahoo Finance the thinks there is some validity to those concerns.
“I have long been concerned about cronyism in Washington,” said Cruz. “Both parties have a tendency to get in bed with lobbyists and big business. I hope that's not what happened here. This hearing is designed to really learn the facts. To find out what occurred here. But the interest and incentives of Boeing are different than the interest incentives of the flying public.”
Cruz told Yahoo Finance he also wants to know why more training was not required and why manuals may not have had the necessary information for pilots.
“I understand the financial incentive of Boeing not to want to require more training. That makes it more expensive. They're trying to sell a product, but at the end of the day, those financial incentives should not be enough to satisfy regulators who have a responsibility that if you're changing fundamentally the way the plane flies, then you need to have the proper training and equipment,” Cruz said.
Cruz said he expects the next step will be hearing from industry stakeholders. He wants to address “indications” that airlines in the U.S. may have been providing more rigorous pilot training than airlines in other countries — potentially including Ethiopia and Indonesia.
The Senator from Texas told Yahoo Finance he thinks the Boeing CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, should be called in to testify before Congress.
“I'm certainly going to urge that we do that,” said Cruz.
Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8.
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