FAA 787 Inspections Reveal Checks Were Left to Boeing
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When it came time for U.S. regulators to certify the safety of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner and its new technologies, they relied on the planemaker’s engineers to oversee final tests and vouch for their company’s work.
The Federal Aviation Administration has operated that way for many years, even as government audits have found those efforts were sometimes poorly overseen and led to errors. The agency in 2005 began allowing Boeing and other manufacturers to pick the engineers, who previously were chosen by the FAA.