With help from Brianna Gurciullo
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— Boeing’s CEO took bipartisan heat from House members, including calls for his resignation.
— The Interior Department is indefinitely stopping all of its drone flights except for emergency purposes.
— The newest drone on the market, making waves among the tech-obsessed, is just small enough that it doesn’t have to be registered with the FAA, raising regulatory questions.
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BOEING CEO TAKES BIPARTISAN HEAT: Several members of the House Transportation Committee told Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg that he hadn’t been held adequately accountable for two 737 MAX crashes, while they also released new documents on the passenger jet’s development.
Bipartisan heat: Muilenburg, who was testifying on Wednesday for the second day in a row after a Senate Commerce hearing, said he and the company take responsibility for mistakes with the MAX. But that wasn’t enough for lawmakers of both parties.
Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) took aim at Muilenburg over both his compensation as well as his repeated references to growing up on a farm. “You’re no longer an Iowa farm boy. You are the CEO of the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. You’re earning a heck of a lot of money. And so far, the consequence to you has been, ‘Oh, you’re not chairman of the board anymore,’” DeFazio said.
DeFazio also sharply questioned Muilenburg about reports of Boeing trying to move families’ legal action against the company to Indonesian courts. Muilenburg said he wasn’t familiar with such a strategy. “I’m incredulous that you don’t know whether or not your company is attempting to avoid the U.S. courts for liability regarding Lion Air,” DeFazio said.
Muilenburg was confronted after the hearing by Nadia Milleron, whose daughter died in the MAX crash in Ethiopia. “You talked about Iowa just like one too many times,” Milleron said. “And the whole group said, ‘Go back to the farm. Go back to Iowa. Do that.’”
The committee also released documents from its investigation that weren’t previously public. Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) described an email from four months before the MAX crash in Indonesia, in which a Boeing senior manager involved in the plane’s assembly wrote that employees were fatigued and under pressure to meet production schedules. “And for the first time in my life, I’m sorry to say that I’m hesitant about putting my family on a Boeing airplane,” wrote the senior manager, who has since retired.
What’s next? Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) said the next step is for the committee to bring the FAA back in for a hearing with an eye toward changes to the certification process, our Tanya Snyder reports. Ranking member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) also wants to hear from FAA officials from the time the MAX was certified.
INTERIOR GROUNDS UAV FLEET: The department is grounding its fleet of hundreds of drones except for emergency missions, our Stephanie Beasley reported Wednesday. In an email obtained by POLITICO, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget Scott Cameron told bureau directors to immediately cease non-emergency uses. “This direction may be revised after the department has had the opportunity to conduct a comprehensive review of its drone program,” Cameron wrote. Interior later clarified that the order referred to drones made in China or with Chinese components, but that in fact covers all of the drones in its fleet.
Why? Interior said it’s “reviewing” its use of Chinese-made drones, but others in the drone industry think it has something to do with political pressure. The department has been the target of legislation aimed at both the federal government and specifically the agency. “I think they’re being reprimanded for being out front,” said Diana Cooper, senior vice president of policy and strategy at U.S.-based drone software company PrecisionHawk, which works with Chinese manufacturer DJI. She added that shutting down the entire drone program seemed “very aggressive” for a non-security agency.
TINY DRONE RAISES REGULATORY QUESTIONS: A key feature of the hottest new drone on the market is that it’s so small you don’t have to register it with regulators in the U.S., Canada or the U.K. under new laws set to go into effect there soon. The DJI Mavic Mini was designed to be 249 grams — just below the 250 gram limit that’s become a consensus among international aviation authorities.
That’s led to questions about how other FAA regulations apply. It’s still illegal for drones of any size to fly over people without a waiver, although the FAA has proposed a rule that could change that. In a blog post, DJI said the light weight is based on improving safety. The reason drones under that size don’t have to be registered, the company said, is that experts have found them unlikely to cause harm. The FAA’s limit, for example, was created by a committee in 2015 that used “complex formulas involving kinetic energy and terminal velocity” to find the 250 gram cutoff.
Observers have wondered whether developments in mini drone tech could lead the FAA to change its rules — especially as it works to finalize a remote identification mandate that would let the agency and law enforcement get information about drones in real time. “One of the very legitimate arguments being made is if we get to remote identification … which would provide a level of accountability to owners and operators of drones … then we lose a degree of accountability below 250 grams. That’s legitimate,” said Enrico Schaefer, a Michigan lawyer who specializes in drone issues.
It’s also worth noting: The registration that the Mavic Mini avoids isn’t an onerous process. It costs $5 and the paperwork can be filled out online. Anyone who wants to use the drone for commercial purposes will still have register and be certified by the FAA under the Part 107 rules.
TODAY ON THE HILL: The Senate will vote on a package of fiscal 2020 appropriations bills, including spending for DOT. Included in a package of amendments to be considered is a bipartisan one that would block the transit funding cuts triggered by the so-called Rostenkowski rule.
CHAO VISITS BULLET TRAIN IN JAPAN: On a recent trip there for the enthronement of the country’s new emperor, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stopped to check out a shinkansen bullet train. The DOT chief hasn’t been friendly to high-speed rail in the U.S., as her agency has pulled back funding for California’s project, the only one currently under construction here.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also rode the train during a recent trip. A private company in his state, Texas Central, is trying to develop high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston.
DOC OF THE DAY: A new report from the Mercatus Center, “Smart cities, dumb infrastructure,” looks at the relative scarcity of vehicle-to-infrastructure technology on U.S. roadways and how state and local governments can help roads communicate with autonomous vehicles.
— “What Boeing’s CEO says may be used against it in the court of law, public opinion.” Yahoo Finance.
— “Lyft is taking the human judgment out of critical safety decisions.” Washington Post.
— “Trump thanks GM, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota on California emissions fight.” Reuters.
— “2 killed when small plane crashes into Atlanta-area townhome.” Associated Press.
— “LAX apologizes for ‘unacceptable’ long waits for Uber and Lyft pickups.” Los Angeles Times.
DOT appropriations run out in 22 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,431 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 336 days.
