The US Transportation Workers Union wants to see tighter supervision by the FAA over maintenance performed in foreign countries.
The bill to extend the FAA’s authority over maintenance performed at non-US aviation maintenance bases—on US aircraft—anywhere in the world has passed the House Transportation Committee.
The Transportation Committee's chairman, Rep. Peter DeFazio, said the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act would establish "one standard of safety regardless of where the aircraft is maintained."
Proponents of the bill claim that failing to pass the bill could lead to more crashes like the 747 MAX disasters. The October 2018 crash of a Lion 737MAX was blamed, in part, on “improper maintenance.” The bill still must pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the President in order to become law.
The US Transportation Workers Union includes 60,000 aviation workers including maintenance personnel from American Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines, all operating the 737 MAX.