WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - The head of the Federal

Aviation Administration said Thursday the agency was "too hands

off" in oversight of Boeing ( BA ) before a Jan. 5 mid-air emergency in

a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9.

"The FAA should have had much better visibility into what

was happening at Boeing ( BA ) before Jan. 5," said FAA Administrator

Mike Whitaker at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing.

He said the agency had permanently boosted the use of

in-person inspectors and would visit a Boeing ( BA ) factory in South

Carolina on Friday. "The FAA's approach before then "was too

hands off, too focused on paperwork audits and not focused

enough on inspections," Whitaker added.