U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chair of the Aviation Safety Subcommittee, yesterday introduced the FAA SMS Compliance Review Act of 2024 to improve the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) safety oversight by ensuring the agency’s Safety Management System (SMS) is comprehensive, robust and effective to identify and address aviation safety issues. The legislation also requires the FAA to implement processes to perform root cause analyses of prior oversight lapses and end its practice of giving aviation manufacturers nearly two months’ notice before an audit.

“FAA must have a mandatory safety management system that makes the U.S. the gold standard,” said Sen. Cantwell. “An expert panel can help ensure that the FAA sets up a SMS that is compliant, robust and effective to keep our aviation system safe.”

“It’s the FAA’s job to keep the flying public safe, so it only makes sense that the FAA should be held to the highest standard of safety when it comes to its own policies and procedures,” said Sen. Duckworth. “Our bill seeks to ensure that FAA is optimizing effectiveness in its work to strengthen aviation safety and protect passengers and crew.”

Modeled after the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) expert review panel mandated in the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act (ACSAA), this legislation establishes an expert panel to review FAA’s current SMS for compliance with agency orders and policies, and issue recommendations and findings to inform the implementation of a stronger, integrated Safety Management System at FAA. The legislation also directs the agency to implement effective processes for performing root cause analyses of FAA’s oversight lapses.

On July 27, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker requesting the FAA to conduct a root cause analysis to determine any deficiencies in its own oversight of aviation manufacturers. The letter followed Sen. Cantwell’s most recent Committee hearing on aviation safety, where Administrator Whitaker said the agency was “too hands off” on its oversight of Boeing.

During an April Committee hearing with members of the ODA Expert Review Panel, which was tasked with reviewing Boeing’s safety culture, Sen. Cantwell also raised concerns about FAA’s safety culture.

“I believe the FAA needs not only a strong workforce strategy to exercise the oversight of the manufacturers to ensure proper implementation of SMS,” said Sen. Cantwell, before asking the panel: “What SMS should the FAA implement in their own house to make sure that they are improving the safety culture and standing up on these important safety measures?”

In response, Dr. Najmedin Meshkati, a University of Southern California professor in the Aviation Safety and Security Program, recommended the establishment of a specific expert panel to review the effectiveness of the FAA’s implementation of its own SMS.

The FAA SMS Compliance Review Act directs the FAA to:

• Convene an independent review panel that will make recommendations to help the FAA implement a robust, comprehensive Safety Management System across all lines of business at the agency, which includes Aviation Safety, Air Traffic Organization, Airports, Security & Hazardous Materials Safety and the Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
• Develop and implement effective processes for performing root cause analyses to identify opportunities for improvement in the FAA’s execution of its regulatory oversight responsibilities.
• Revise its procedures to shorten the time that manufacturers have to prepare for audits from 50 days to one week. 

Following the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 incident in January, Sen. Cantwell has held a series of aviation safety hearings, along with leading legislation and letters calling for stronger safety oversight at the FAA.

In January 2023 and January 2024, Sen. Cantwell requested that FAA perform a special technical audit of Boeing’s production line. The FAA later said the audit found multiple instances where Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.

Sen. Cantwell held an April hearing to review the independent Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Expert Review Panel’s final report, a March hearing with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy on its investigation of the January incident and a June hearing with FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker on the agency’s oversight.

In May, Sen. Cantwell and Sen. Duckworth led the passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which includes new measures to improve aviation safety, such as putting more safety inspectors on factory floors, addressing the nation’s shortage of air traffic controllers, deploying new runway technology to prevent close calls, mandating new 25-hour cockpit recording systems to assist in investigations and enhancing aircraft certification reforms.

The FAA Reauthorization Act builds upon the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act of 2020, spearheaded by Sen. Cantwell in the aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.