WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday it will intensify its oversight of Boeing. This comes nearly one week after a door panel blew off mid-air on an Alaska Airlines flight heading to southern California.

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

Federal regulators said in addition to the FAA’s investigation into Boeing’s federal safety compliances, the agency will also conduct an audit of Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner production line and its suppliers.

“The findings of this is going to be critical to really understanding what went wrong and make sure those issues are addressed,” Dr. Hassan Shahidi, CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation said.

Shahidi says current FAA rules allow many companies, like Boeing, to conduct their own safety oversight. The agency said on Friday that it is re-examining that process.

“The FAA has provided that flexibility,” Shahidi said. “But now the FAA is taking a hard look at that to bring that oversight more in house or to a third party.”

This week, the FAA grounded more than 170 Boeing 737 max 9 aircrafts. Shahidi says it could take some time before the agency can determine if or when those planes are safe to fly.

“Until the FAA is satisfied that all of the issues are addressed, including the inspection process that will be undertaken by these airlines to look at those plug doors, the FAA will not approve the ungrounding of this aircraft,” Shahidi said.

And Shahidi says if Congress doesn’t reauthorize the FAA soon, those planes could be grounded even longer. Texas Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) says that would be a mistake.

“Failure to do so would result in complete chaos for travelers,” Cornyn said. The FAA’s current authorization is set to expire on March 8th.