Top regulator pledges to hold Boeing accountable with 'more boots on the ground' at factories

US Federal Aviation Administration 'will consider the full extent of our enforcement authority to ensure Boeing is held accountable for any non-compliance', top official said  

The hole blown out of an airborne Boeing Max 9 plane last month has led to global alarm over the US planemaker.

The US Federal Aviation Administration’s top official pledged to hold Boeing accountable for any quality lapses as the agency examines the US planemaker’s manufacturing processes following a near-disaster on an Alaska Airlines flight last month.

“The events of January 5 really created two issues for us, one is what’s wrong with this airplane, but two, what’s going on with the production at Boeing,” FAA administrator Mike Whitaker told lawmakers in Washington.