US lawmakers ask if FAA found 'persistent quality lapses' at Boeing -- letter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. lawmakers want the Federal Aviation Administration to answer questions about its oversight of Boeing in the wake of the 737 MAX 9 mid-air emergency including whether it found serious quality issues at the planemaker.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Sam Graves and Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the committee, along with Representative Garret Graves, the chair of the aviation subcommittee and Democrat Steve Cohen, asked FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker in a letter to answer if before or after the accident the FAA found "any evidence of persistent quality control lapses in any of Boeing's production lines."

Whitaker is set to testify Tuesday before the aviation subcommittee.

(Reporting by David Shepardson)