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NTSB to call for FAA changes


With help from Tanya Snyder

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The NTSB is planning to publish safety recommendations today that call for changes in how the FAA certifies airplanes, as part of its investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX.

DOT chief Elaine Chao urged international regulators to not give conflicting signals to the public as they work on ungrounding the MAX.

Dan Elwell, the FAA’s No. 2 official, is due back on the Hill today this time to answer questions from impatient lawmakers about the slow-moving implementation of the FAA reauthorization law enacted last year.

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“Every turn I take / Every trail I track / Every path I make / Every road leads back / to the place I know / Where I cannot go / Where I long to be.”

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NTSB TO CALL FOR FAA CHANGES: The NTSB’s expected recommendations today will tell the FAA to rethink how pilots react to automated systems in the cockpit, our Brianna Gurciullo reports. The safety recommendations, part of the agency’s investigation into two recent Boeing 737 MAX crashes, are a call for the aviation regulator to “step up” how it certifies airplanes’ systems that interface with pilots, said Dana Schulze, the director of the NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety.

The safety agency also wants the FAA to take a close look at the different “failure conditions” that activate a flight control system in the MAX called MCAS before the plane is allowed back in the sky.

Other recommendations coming today from NTSB will include that the FAA change how it uses test pilots to approve aircraft designs.

FAA PRESSED FROM ALL SIDES: Elwell, the agency’s deputy administrator, was in defense mode at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday. First, he repeated the FAA’s repudiation of an Office of Special Counsel report, arguing the letter sent to President Donald Trump earlier this week inaccurately claimed that safety inspectors who worked on the MAX were undertrained, and that the agency misled Congress.

For the record: When asked by MT what specifically is causing the disagreement between the FAA and OSC, Elwell referred to a brief official statement the FAA made earlier this week. A spokesperson noted that the FAA has posted much of its correspondence with lawmakers, and information about its internal investigation into the whistleblower allegation, on its website.

Later in the hearing, he took aim at the press. Elwell batted down suggestions of an international rift over the ungrounding of the MAX, saying the FAA has “never been closer” to its peer aviation regulators around the world. It’s natural, he said, that different countries could be “several days or what have you off,” even if simultaneous ungrounding is the goal. He reassured lawmakers that the relationships remain strong by pointing to conversations he had in Montreal earlier this week.

And finally, confronted after the hearing by the mother of Samya Stumo, a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash in March, Elwell defended the fact that none of the FAA employees involved in the plane’s certification have resigned. He told her it would be wrong to “let go an entire organization within FAA before we hear the full report, the full study,” from the various probes into how the plane was certified.

Chao’s message: The Transportation secretary said on Wednesday she’s worried about aviation regulators giving “conflicting signals” about the MAX, according to Reuters. “International coordination is important in all aspects of this process,” Chao said at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s assembly in Montreal. “The traveling public will not be well served if there are conflicting signals given by different regulatory authorities around the world.”

BOEING’S SAFETY EFFORTS: The company announced several changes aimed at improving safety, in the wake of the two MAX crashes, our Brianna Gurciullo reports. They include setting up a new safety organization within the company and making organizational changes that will mean all engineers will report to a chief engineer, as well as requiring a reassessment of how the company designs its planes’ flight decks.

Meanwhile, Boeing has started settling claims from last year’s MAX crash in Indonesia. Eleven families will receive at least $1.2 million apiece, Reuters reported. The company did not admit liability as part of the settlements.

THE NEWS NEVER ENDS: Elwell will be back in front of lawmakers today, at a hearing on the agency’s implementation of the FAA reauthorization. It’s likely the MAX will come up again, but there are plenty of other pressing issues. Those include: delayed flight attendant rest rules (an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking was just posted), remote identification rules for drones, and a requirement for DOT to review whether it needs a policy for airlines to ensure that children are seated next to their families. That mandate has actually been leftover since the 2016 FAA law — Consumer Reports is raising the alarm about DOT’s inaction.

BIG YELLOW WELCOME SIGN: Construction-related delays at airports are a real issue for travelers, according to market research firm J.D. Power, which released its latest report on airport satisfaction on Wednesday. Overall passenger satisfaction has risen only a single point on a thousand point scale, after years of steadier growth. “With major terminal construction projects now underway in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and many other airports, it is becoming impossible for travelers not to experience some form of disruption,” said J.D. Power’s Michael Taylor. Airport security experiences have improved, though, which the company said is due to better TSA screening and the adoption of biometric technology.

WAXING POETIC: At the end of a Wednesday Budget Committee hearing on infrastructure spending, John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said that “our past is catching up with us and the future got here faster than we anticipated.” Citing artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles, the committee chairman said, “We need futurists in Congress, so that we can start making policy” with an eye toward what’s happening next, instead of acting “as if nothing’s going to change.”

Pivoting to high-speed rail, Yarmuth said that “most likely in 20 years we will have self-driving vehicles that can go 200 mph, in which case who’s going to take a high-speed train?” (Note: Even Elon Musk is only aiming for 150 mph.) He added: “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider making investments in high-speed rail. But it also means that 30 years from now it might look like the dumbest money we’ve ever spent.”

PATROLLING THE RISING SEAS: Climate change could impact virtually all of the Coast Guard’s on-shore facilities, a high-ranking official told House lawmakers on Wednesday. Rear Adm. Nathan Moore, the assistant commandant for engineering and logistics, told members of the House Transportation Coast Guard Subcommittee that all of the service’s shore facilities — including boat stations, piers, housing units and aircraft hangars — are “on or near the water” and potentially “vulnerable” to rising sea levels. Pros can read more from our Stephanie Beasley.

Nick Shapiro has joined the micromobility company Lime as global head of trust and safety. The former CIA deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the director most recently served as Airbnb’s global head of crisis management and as Visa’s vice president of global security and communications. (h/t POLITICO Playbook)

— “When rides go wrong: How Uber’s investigations unit works to limit the company’s liability.” Washington Post.

— “Survey finds 60 percent of Mass. biotech workers would change job to get a better commute.” Boston Globe.

— “Ford’s autonomous vehicles are coming to Austin, Texas.” The Verge.

— “Fremont police Tesla runs low on juice during high-speed chase.” San Jose Mercury News.

— “EVs put the squeeze on suppliers.” E&E News.

— “FMCSA awards $77 million in truck safety grants.” FreightWaves.

DOT appropriations run out in 5 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,467 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 372 days.





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