The White House on Friday said federal regulators are doing everything they can to assuage Americans’ anxieties about flying after notable recent mishaps on Boeing planes.
But asked directly whether President Joe Biden thinks it’s safe to fly, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sidestepped.
“I think what he – I think what Americans should know is that (the Federal Aviation Administration) is doing everything that it can to make sure that Americans feel safe,” Jean-Pierre told reporters during a press briefing Friday.
She added that the FAA is taking actions “to make sure that there is increased safety oversight of Boeing and that’s what the American people should feel reassured by.”
Her comments came after several scary incidents involving planes manufactured by Boeing, including the terrifying plunge earlier this week involving a Latam Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight from Australia to New Zealand.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that a flight attendant may have inadvertently hit a switch on the pilot’s seat while serving a meal, pushing the pilot into controls that altered the plane’s flight, injuring dozens of passengers. CNN has yet to be able to confirm the Journal’s report.
“The investigation of Flight LA800 is ongoing and we defer to the investigation authorities on any potential findings,” Boeing said in a statement. “We have taken the precautionary measure of reminding 787 operators of a service bulletin issued in 2017 which included instructions for inspecting and maintaining switches on flight deck seats.”
And in January, a door plug blew out on a Boeing-manufactured Alaskan Airlines flight, leaving a gaping hole in the plane’s fuselage.
That incident resulted in a temporary…
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