Spotlight: U.S. regulator sides with Boeing despite calls to prioritize safety

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday doubled down on its position to side with Boeing, despite two recent crashes of Boeing's models causing an outcry to ground the aircraft.

"Thus far, our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the aircraft. Nor have other civil aviation authorities provided data to us that would warrant action," the FAA said in a statement, referring to the Boeing 737 Max.

An Ethiopian Airlines plane en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya crashed Sunday, killing all 157 people aboard. A Lion Air crash in October in Indonesia killed all 189 people on board. Both were Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and circumstances surrounding both crashes shared alarming similarities.

The FAA statement came one day after it issued a continued airworthiness certificate for the model in question. The FAA's refusal to take action would keep 74 Boeing 737 Max aircraft registered to U.S. carriers in the air.

However, the FAA's steadfast support for the U.S. aircraft manufacturer was lamented by those who say safety should be the top priority and that passengers as well as crew members should not be put at risk by flying in an aircraft that may be fatally flawed.

According to the U.S. media Dallas Morning News, five complaints were filed against Boeing 737 Max aircraft by pilots on a federal database months before the Sunday crash, with one pilot calling the flight manual "inadequate and almost criminally insufficient."

Former FAA safety inspector David Soucie told U.S. media that he would "definitely" ground the Boeing 737 Max if he were in charge of the FAA.

"I've never, ever done this. I've never said that, 'hey, it's unsafe to fly a particular model' but in this case, I'm going to have to go there," Soucie said.

Opinions from professionals have prompted U.S. lawmakers across the aisle and industry organizations to call for the grounding of the model, urging the FAA to join other aviation regulators in prioritizing safety.

U.S. Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Tuesday pledged he would hold a Congressional hearing to investigate the crashes and called for the aircraft to be grounded before the all-clear is given.

"In light of the decisions of regulatory agencies across the world to ground the Model 737 Max, I believe it would be prudent for the United States likewise to temporarily ground 737 Max aircraft until the FAA confirms the safety of these aircraft and their passengers," Cruz said, echoing similar remarks made by Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blumenthal on Monday.

The lawmaker's frustration was shared by union workers, who said it's "absurd" for the FAA to keep allowing Boeing's 737 Max to fly.

"It is absolutely absurd that the FAA won't ground the flights until at least they get the voice and data recordings back from this latest incident," John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union of America, told U.S. media.

Samuelsen's union represents more than 17,000 flight attendants of U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines, a major operator of the Boeing 737 Max in the United States along with American Airlines and United Airlines.

Airline consumer organization Flyers Rights said the crashes "should compel the FAA to ground all these aircraft until it is clear that its automated control problems have been fixed."

"If you fail to do so now and a third crash occurs, you will be responsible," the organization said in an open letter to the FAA Monday.

Many calling on the FAA to ground the aircraft point to a growing number of international aviation regulators, including those in China, Indonesia, the European Union and Australia, that have temporarily banned operation of the aircraft, as well as an expanding list of airlines also making the move.

"Several other countries have already taken this important step, including China and Indonesia," Feinstein noted in a letter addressed to the FAA.

It's unclear whether these calls could persuade the FAA to turn against Boeing, which is known to have deep pockets for lobbying cash and hold strong sway among U.S. politicians.

According to federal records, Boeing spent 15.1 million dollars on lobbying last year, ranking number 10 in terms of lobbying activity.