Tag: James Dalgleish

Democrats seek probe of key FAA decisions on 737 MAX approval

March 19, 2019

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives transportation committee and another key Democrat asked the Transportation Department’s inspector general on Tuesday to examine key decisions made by the Federal Aviation Administration in certifying Boeing’s 737 MAX jet for use.

The request follows the March 10 crash of a 737 MAX jet in Ethiopia and the crash in Indonesia in October of another 737 MAX jet.

The inspector general’s office said it would open an audit Tuesday into the plane’s approval but has not disclosed what it will examine. Representative Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and committee member Rick Larsen said the crashes underscore “the need to take a more proactive approach with safety to protect the traveling public.”

The two Democrats asked in a letter that the probe include a review of what “led to the FAA’s decision not to revise pilot training programs and manuals to reflect changes to flight-critical automation systems.”

The FAA declined to comment on the letter.

Congress plans to hold hearings as early as next week on the two fatal crashes that are expected to include the FAA’s acting chief, Dan Elwell, and other government officials. The Democrats want the review to help improve the “certification process overall and identify improvements to oversight and safety of all new aircraft.”

Boeing said earlier on Tuesday that it would fully cooperate in the inspector general’s audit.

The Democrats want the audit also to include a review of how each of the new features on the Boeing 737 MAX, including positioning of engines on the aircraft and the corresponding changes to automation, angle-of-attack sensors, and how new software “were tested, certified, and integrated into the aircraft.”

They also ask the review to include “how new features of the aircraft, and potential performance differences in this aircraft, were communicated to airline customers, pilots and foreign civil aviation authorities.”

They also want a status report on corrective actions since the fatal Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October “and whether pilots are being adequately trained before the 737 MAX is returned to revenue passenger service throughout the international aviation community.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler)

FAA warns Southwest, union prolonged dispute could pose safety concerns

March 8, 2019

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration warned Southwest Airlines Co and a union representing its mechanics in a letter on Friday that their prolonged contract dispute could pose safety concerns.

The letter warned that a “breakdown in the relationship” between the airline and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association “raises concerns about the ongoing effectiveness of the airline’s safety management system.”

Southwest and the union did not immediately comment on the letter, which noted that the FAA is neutral on the labor dispute.

Southwest and the union, which have been in contract negotiations since 2012, are locked in an escalating battle that last week saw the airline file a lawsuit asking a federal judge to intervene.

CEO Gary Kelly said earlier this week the dispute is costing Southwest millions of dollars in lost revenues a week as well as millions of dollars in costs related to flight cancellations and delays.

The union – which represents more than 2,400 Southwest mechanics – disparaged the comments as “a way to distract the public from Southwest’s own degrading safety standards.”

An FAA spokesman told Reuters: “As a standard practice, we have increased oversight at this time.”

The FAA letter, from the associate administrator for aviation safety, Ali Bahrami, said he wrote to “emphasize the importance of ensuring cooperatively, in accordance with FAA standards, the highest level of safety in the airline’s operations.”

The FAA trusts the airline and union will work to ensure “that any judicial order that might result from the litigation does not constrain appropriate safety activities,” it added.

Dallas-based Southwest, one of the largest domestic U.S. carriers, has said it is committed to operating a safe fleet and that every maintenance report is investigated.

An unprecedented number of out-of-service aircraft in recent weeks at four of Southwest’s maintenance locations has forced the airline to delay or cancel hundreds of flights.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by James Dalgleish and Sonya Hepinstall)

Treasury’s Mnuchin defends U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Russian firms

January 10, 2019

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted on Thursday that the Trump administration would keep tight control on companies linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, despite last month’s decision to ease restrictions on the firms.

“Treasury will be vigilant in ensuring that En+ and Rusal meet these commitments. If these companies fail to comply with the terms, they will face very real and swift consequences, including the reimposition of sanctions,” Mnuchin said in a statement released before a closed-door briefing for the House of Representatives.

He spoke to the lawmakers just two days after Democrats asked him to conduct a briefing for House members on the sanctions decision, one of their first actions since the party took control of the chamber last week.

The newly appointed Democratic leaders of seven House committees wrote to Mnuchin, citing their responsibility to conduct oversight of Russia’s attempts to interfere in U.S. elections and other “hostile actions.”

Mnuchin was national finance chairman for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Democrats have made clear they plan to investigate Russia and its possible links to the 2016 presidential election thoroughly now that they control one house of Congress.

After the briefing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters it had been “a waste of time” and criticized Mnuchin as doing little more than reading from an unclassified statement.

Mnuchin told reporters he respected Pelosi but was “shocked” by her comment. He said he had answered many members’ questions.

In their letter, the committee chairs also asked that implementation of the decision to ease the sanctions be postponed. There was no indication that the administration would do so.

The Treasury announced Dec. 20 that it would lift sanctions imposed in April on the core businesses of Deripaska, including aluminum giant Rusal, its parent En+ and power firm EuroSibEnergo, watering down the toughest penalties imposed since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The companies agreed to restructure to reduce Deripaska’s stakes. The oligarch remains on the sanctions list.

“One of the goals of sanctions is to change behavior, and the proposed delistings of companies that Deripaska will no longer control show that sanctions can result in positive change,” Mnuchin said.

Lawmakers could try to pass a resolution of disapproval of the Treasury’s decision, but passage would require the approval of both the Democratic-majority House and the Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans hold a majority of the seats and are unlikely to break with his policy.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; additional reporting by Eric Beech, Makini Brice, Susan Heavey and Tim Ahmann; editing by James Dalgleish, Dan Grebler and Richard Chang)

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