After the crash of Boeing, Sharp is asking questions about the regulation of the industry

Representative Daniel Lipinski, Democrat of Illinois, had requested the review. On Monday, he said that the delegation program, known in aviation jargon as the O.D.A. program, had not been a concern in recent years, but that the two collisions should cause another review.

"Part of the question is, does the O.D.A. program, did it have any impact on the certification of these aircraft? ", he said," I think it's a legitimate question. "

In another audit published in 2015, the Office of the Inspector General again reviewed the supervision of the delegation program by F.A.A. Once again, the watchdog expressed concern about the supervision of the program by F.A.A., particularly with regard to the direction of his supervisory work and whether there was sufficient staff to perform this work.

"Industry representatives were concerned that AF often focused on paperwork – not critical security issues," the report says.

The FDA budget is one of the factors under consideration. If Congress wanted the government to manage more certification work without slowing down the approval of new aircraft, legislators would most likely need to significantly increase the funding of the CA. so that he can expand his staff. Instead, the Congress encouraged the F.A.A. delegate more certification work to manufacturers.

A report accompanying a spending bill last year stated that the use of the F.A.A. to delegate authority to manufacturers was "essential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of product certification".

"Ideally, if the resources are not a constraint, you would want the regulator to take care of everything," said Christopher A. Hart, a former member of the FCA. responsible and president of the National Transportation Safety Board. "But it's not the ideal world and the resources are limited."

Hart cited the remarkable record of commercial airline safety in the United States in recent years as proof of the success of the delegation system. "If done right," he said, "it can mean security not to delegate."