Report Finds Gaps in FAA Risk Assessment After 737 Max Problems

The National Academy of Sciences gave the agency more than a dozen recommendations.

Michael Wildes

Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 04:07 PM ET

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The FAA certified the 737 Max in 2017. [Courtesy: Boeing]

Key Takeaways:

A U.S. Congress-ordered report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued 13 wide-ranging recommendations for the FAA's aircraft certification process, prompted by the Boeing 737 Max accidents.
The NAS report specifically highlighted significant gaps in the FAA's Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology (TARAM), citing a lack of public visibility, inconsistent application across offices, and a critical shortage of trained subject-matter experts.
These deficiencies in TARAM were identified as likely contributors to the agency's risk assessment shortcomings.
Representative Peter DeFazio urged the FAA to promptly implement the recommendations to effectively improve passenger safety and continue its partnership with the National Academies.

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After two Boeing 737 Max accidents in five months killed 346 people sent shockwaves through the aviation industry, a U.S. Congress-ordered report by the National Academy of Sciences released Wednesday gives the FAA a series of wide-ranging recommendations for its certification process.

Gaps in the FAA Risk Assessment Process

There were thirteen recommendations overall, with timelines of 6 to 18 months, that the Academy suggested the FAA should implement. Tellingly, the report noted the FAA’s process of calculating the risk associated with continued operational safety issues in the U.S. transport airplane fleet—known as the Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology (TARAM)—lacked the appropriate public visibility because “national guidance for TARAM is currently contained only in one published document—the TARAM Handbook.”