The New York Times‘ Mark Walker highlights the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) swift action in response to the latest quality issues with Boeing airplanes. The FAA is poised to ramp up its oversight of Boeing, potentially including a new audit of production lines and suppliers. Discussions also revolve around enlisting external auditors for assessments and third parties for ongoing audits of the Boeing production system.

Regardless of how the problem with the 737 Max jet came to be, the F.A.A.’s fast and aggressive response once the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug blew out in midair was unusual for the agency. Considered the most influential aviation regulator in the world, it has been called the “tombstone” agency over the years for not taking action to address potential safety issues until people had died. But over the past few weeks, Mr. Whitaker has made clear that the F.A.A. intends to take a hard line with Boeing, a manufacturing giant with a vast economic footprint.

The agency did not stop with the grounding. Last month, it said it would bar Boeing from increasing production of the 737 Max line until the company addressed quality control issues, a major blow to the plane maker’s ability to ramp up output as it tries to compete with its main rival, Airbus. The regulator also opened an investigation into Boeing’s compliance with safety standards and announced an audit of the Max 9 production line.

One step the agency could take is to reclaim some safety work that is currently delegated to employees at Boeing. In a statement last month, Mr. Whitaker said it was “time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks.” He added that the agency was looking into using an independent third party to oversee inspections conducted by Boeing.