Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) commended the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the release of the FAA’s Action Plan in response to the Official Report of the Special Committee to Review the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Process.  The Special Committee was tasked by DOT Secretary Elaine Chao to develop recommendations in the wake of investigations into the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX accidents.  Ranking Members Sam Graves and Garret Graves released the following joint statement:  

“As we focus on the safety of our communities through the coronavirus pandemic, we must not take our eye off the ball of protecting our flying passengers.  The FAA hasn’t wavered in its duty to improve the safety of our aviation industry and learn every lesson it can from the 737 MAX accidents.

“The Department of Transportation and the FAA’s action plan for implementing the Special Committee’s expert recommendations is thorough, comprehensive, and actually addresses all formal recommendations made to date, including those from the National Transportation Safety Board, the Joint Authorities Technical Review, and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee.  None of these impartial, unbiased investigations or analyses have concluded that our system is fundamentally broken and in need of major structural reform.  However, many constructive and thoughtful solutions have been identified to improve the safety of our system – one that continues to be the gold standard across the world.

“No system is perfect, and we have always said that if there are problems with the FAA’s aircraft certification system, we should fix them.  The action plan released today will result in positive changes to our system, and we look forward to working with Secretary Chao, Administrator Dickson, and the leaders of the FAA’s workforce to ensure they have the resources and support they need to implement the action plan and continue raising the bar on aviation safety.”