With help from Brianna Gurciullo and Tanya Snyder
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— The House Transportation Committee will have FAA Administrator Steve Dickson in the hot seat to press him on the Boeing 737 MAX.
— Consumer and safety advocates are criticizing DOT’s new regulation governing rulemakings.
— TSA should update its guidelines for preventing human trafficking at general aviation airports, said two New Jersey Democrats, after reports about how Jeffrey Epstein used Teterboro airport to transport trafficking victims.
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DICKSON TO FACE T&I: The House Transportation Committee is set to hold its fifth hearing related to Boeing’s 737 MAX this Wednesday, and it’ll be Dickson’s first time in the hot seat. There will also be a second panel of witnesses, Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) told our Brianna Gurciullo in an interview last week, but their names haven’t been announced.
“We really want to get to how the ODA process failed us and how do we fix it,” DeFazio told Brianna, referring to the FAA’s Organization Designation Authorization program. “We have ideas on reforms,” DeFazio said. “But this will be, I think, a definitive hearing.” He noted that House lawmakers heard from FAA officials in May, but now the committee has gathered and reviewed documents from its investigation into the agency’s certification of the MAX and members have “very specific questions about how this process really works or [doesn’t] work.”
Expect lawmakers to ask Dickson why in two cases — one involving rudder cables on the 737 MAX and another involving a lightning-protection component on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner — it seemed the wishes of the planemaker weighed more heavily than the views of agency technical experts.
The latest from FAA: The agency published an updated “master minimum equipment list” for the MAX on Friday, an early step toward returning the plane to service.
ON DIFFERENT 737s: The FAA is looking to levy a nearly $4 million fine on Boeing after the manufacturer allegedly put faulty parts on about 130 of its 737 NG planes and then suggested those planes were airworthy, our Brianna Gurciullo reported Friday. The so-called slat tracks on the edge of wings were “weakened by a condition known as hydrogen embrittlement,” the agency said. “The FAA further alleges that Boeing knowingly submitted aircraft for final FAA airworthiness certification after determining that the parts could not be used due to a failed strength test.”
Boeing said in a statement: “All affected 737 NGs have been inspected and all slat track installations determined to be required have been completed on the NGs. We have not been informed of any in-service issues related to the slat tracks themselves.”
HIWAS NO MORE: The FAA is getting rid of a weather advisory system for pilots called the Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service, citing a drop in use because of the internet and other technologies. “Multiple sources are available that provide access to weather and aeronautical information to pilots in the cockpit, often presented in a graphical format, making it easier to visualize what is going on along the route of flight,” the agency said in a notice publishing in the Federal Register today.
Not everyone is happy with the decision, which is set to take effect Jan. 8. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which advocates for general aviation, said in comments that some of its members still rely on HIWAS to get adverse weather information, and argued that removing it completely could create safety issues. The agency is planning to publish NOTAMs and do other outreach to pilots to let them know the service is being discontinued.
ELSEWHERE ON THE HILL: The Senate Commerce Committee will mark up a number of bills, including several on aviation, and then hold a hearing on the nomination of Thomas Chapman to the National Transportation Safety Board.
DEFAZIO REACTS TO UBER REPORT: DeFazio responded quickly to Uber’s striking safety report last week, which said more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported by drivers or riders using the platform last year. DeFazio, who publicly sparred with Uber and Lyft earlier this year after they declined his invitation to testify on rideshare safety, said he’ll continue to push the companies to establish formal policies, training and reporting structures. “As a country, we must ensure safety is a priority, and make it clear that sexual assault and harassment will not be tolerated anywhere, no matter where it occurs,” he said. He has passed legislation through the committee, H.R. 5139 (116), that aims to mandate that transportation providers take several steps.
OVERRULED: Consumer protection and safety groups are not fans of DOT’s new “rule on rules.” Amit Narang, a regulatory expert at Public Citizen, said the new rules would “make it harder, not easier, for DOT to issue new regulations onboarding new technologies like drones and automated vehicles,” and called the move an “acknowledgement” that the administration’s deregulatory actions would otherwise likely be repealed by future administrations. And Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety compared the $3.7 billion DOT claims have been saved with the trillions that roadway crashes cost society each year. “Impeding the implementation of commonsense, lifesaving auto safety regulations will only exacerbate this horrific death and economic toll,” said Advocates President Cathy Chase, pointing to NHTSA’s already large backlog of safety regulations.
Defazio said he is “concerned about the safety and transparency implications” of the rule and planned to follow up with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao “in the very near future.”
AGENCY ACTION: It’s a busy week for transportation agencies in D.C., too. On Tuesday, the Federal Highway Administration has a meeting on motorcycle infrastructure issues, the TSA has a meeting of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, and the NTSB holds a board meeting to determine the cause of a March 2018 helicopter crash in New York. On Wednesday, the FRA has a hearing on Amtrak safety standards. And Thursday features meetings of the FAA’s Next Gen Advisory Committee and Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, as well as a Surface Transportation Board hearing on railroad revenue adequacy.
MAILBAG: Two New Jersey Democrats wrote to TSA calling for it to update its security guidelines for general aviation airports, aiming to prevent human trafficking. The letter raises concerns about gaps in the agency’s guidelines, uncovered by Epstein’s use of an airport in Teterboro, N.J., to transport human trafficking victims. “Mr. Epstein’s ability to take advantage of less stringent security regulations and staff training at Teterboro to facilitate a multidecade human trafficking ring demonstrates gaps in the current monitoring of general aviation airports and training of general aviation staff,” wrote Reps. Bill Pascrell and Josh Gottheimer.
DOC OF THE DAY: Despite recent progress, 29 people per day in the U.S. died due to alcohol impaired driving in 2018, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association, which calls for a “systemic and holistic approach” to high-risk impaired drivers — repeat offenders, those with high BACs, or with multiple drugs in their system. It suggests an “individualized justice” approach, which focuses on determining the root causes of impaired driving and preventing recidivism.
— “‘TSA’s Investigating TSA’: Reactions come in to Robert Henry’s death investigation.” WMFE.
— “Tesla on Autopilot collided Saturday morning with a state police cruiser.” Hartford Courant.
— “Spirit Airlines suing U.S. DOT over Southwest’s vacant Newark slots.” Aviation Week.
— “VW’s German plants need to shape up, says production chief.” Reuters.
— “Rival CEOs at American, United share a long history.” Wall Street Journal.
DOT appropriations run out in 11 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,392 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 297 days.
