WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) -

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will

testify on Sept. 24 before the House of Representatives

Transportation Committee on Boeing's quality improvement

plan, the committee said Monday.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker in late February gave Boeing ( BA )

90 days to come up with a plan to address "systemic

quality-control issues." Boeing ( BA ) delivered the plan in late May

and the FAA is still assessing the planemaker's reform efforts.

Boeing ( BA ) faces mounting scrutiny from Congress since a Jan. 5

mid-air emergency in a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737

MAX 9. Boeing ( BA ) did not immediately comment for this story.

On Sept. 25, Whitaker will testify before the Senate

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations at a hearing titled

"FAA Oversight of Boeing's ( BA ) Broken Safety Culture."

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the panel, told

Reuters the FAA must explain its oversight of Boeing ( BA ) before the

January Alaska Air incident.

"Instead of encouraging workers to report quality and

safety concerns, Boeing's ( BA ) culture pushed workers to conceal

problems that required federal inspectors' attention,"

Blumenthal said.

"The FAA has to explain what they knew and when they knew

it. Boeing's ( BA ) broken safety culture is in desperate need of

repair, and the FAA has an essential role to play."

In February, Whitaker barred Boeing ( BA ) from boosting

production of its best-selling plane and required the company to

submit a quality improvement plan. Whitaker also said the agency

will continue increased on-site presence at Boeing ( BA ) for the

foreseeable future.

"This is a very long term journey for Boeing ( BA ). I think

it's going to be measured in years not months," Whitaker told

reporters last week in Washington. He said he plans to visit

Boeing ( BA ) in Seattle to meet with Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly Ortberg as soon

as later this month.

In July, Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell

asked the FAA to conduct a thorough review into its oversight of

Boeing ( BA ) and other manufacturers.