The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has announced an increase in its powers of oversight over United Airlines due to heightened safety concerns in recent weeks. After the FAA’s re-evaluation of the carrier was announced, United’s share price dropped by 6%.
Engine fires, falling parts, and runaway planes
The FAA’s decision to undertake a formal assessment of the airline’s safety compliance comes after a number of recent lapses in safety norms. The FAA was already looking into the case of a United Airlines plane that landed in Oregon missing an external panel on 15 March.
Just a week earlier another United flight involving a Boeing 737 MAX carrying 166 people overran the runway on landing at George Bush Intercontinental airport in Houston. All passengers and crew deplaned safely using steps.
Elsewhere, another United flight, this time operated on a Boeing 737-900 from Texas to Florida, experienced an engine fire about 20 minutes in and had to turn around and make an emergency landing. Again no one was injured.
And United Airlines flight UA35 carrying 249 people to Osaka, Japan dropped a wheel from the air onto a carpark at San Francisco International airport which it had just taken off from. The wheel destroyed at least one car. No one was harmed. The plane was able to land safely after diverting to Los Angeles.
The missing wheel of the Boeing 777-222(ER) plane (N226UA) has damaged multiple cars at SFO.
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) March 7, 2024
🎥@Julian61865944 https://t.co/6Zyv0LEQWw pic.twitter.com/X2o6LHwBEM
Both United and Boeing under pressure
In a statement made after the Oregon incident, United made all the usual public relations promises, saying “We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service. We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred.”
However, that was not enough for the FAA. Now, with the markets reacting unfavourably to the agency’s move to place United under increased oversight, the relationship between United and Boeing (which is battling oversight and reputation issues of its own) might well come under some strain.
United has already made complaints about delays on Boeing deliveries which the carrier says are “way behind this year.” Additional uncertainty is being created by the current regulatory climate, making it “impossible to say when MAX 10 is going to get certified.”
Boeing’s woes are such that it has just announced a massive shakeup of its board, with CEO and President of its commercial airplanes unit Stan Deal retiring immediately, and both its Chairman and its CEO leaving by the end of the year.
