The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing’s inspections and its quality system.

 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now wants to carry out a detailed inpection , not only at Boeing's manufacturing facility , but also on the suppliers and vendors involved in the process.

After taking decisive and immediate action to ground approximately 171 Boeing 737-9 MAX planes, the FAA today announced new and significant actions to immediately increase its oversight of Boeing production and manufacturing.

These actions come one day after the FAA formally notified Boeing that the FAA has launched an investigation into the company as a result of last Friday’s incident on a Boeing Model 737-9 MAX in which the aircraft lost a passenger door plug while in flight. 

As the head of the agency saying publicly that they believe there are "other manufacturing problems" at the company, The actions announced today include the FAA conducting :

• An audit involving the Boeing 737-9 MAX production line and its suppliers to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures. The results of the FAA’s audit analysis will determine whether additional audits are necessary.
• Increased monitoring of Boeing 737-9 MAX in-service events.
• Assessment of safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight, and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.

The FAA said it would also reexamine its decision to delegate some responsibilities to Boeing and consider moving some functions under independent, third-party entities.

"It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said.

"The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk. The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing’s inspections and its quality system."

Yesterday, the FAA announced an investigation to determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations. The letter to Boeing is available here. 

Hinting an expended period of grounding the Boeing 737-9 MAX planes , FAA said,

The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 MAX to service. 

Two Boeing B737MAX 8 planes crashed in the year 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people and prompting a global grounding of all MAX 8 and MAX 9 aircraft that lasted nearly two years.