The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced a proposed civil penalty of $3.1 million against Boeing. This decision follows a monthslong investigation which found blatant safety violations in the way the company’s manufacturing oversight of their aircraft. The penalties are related to an incident in which a door plug blew out. This incident with an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 just after departure from Portland, Oregon, in January 2024.
Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, has 30 days to respond to the FAA’s proposed civil fines. The FAA’s 17-month-long investigation—which was under the direction of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—was extensive. They documented alarming failures in Boeing’s manufacturing processes as well as the repeated failures of the FAA to conduct effective inspections and audits.
The probe found that a combination of Boeing’s failures and the FAA’s insufficient inspections led to the January crash. Miraculously, all 171 passengers and six crew members on the flight were not seriously injured in the blowout. No one was seriously harmed during the entire ordeal.
Now, the Boeing 737 Max has been one of the company’s best-selling aircraft. It’s a train that has continually battled with issues of safety, lateness, and reliability. This model was responsible for two nationwide tragic crashes. One was in Indonesia in 2018, and the other was in Ethiopia in 2019, together taking 346 lives.
FAA has recently proposed civil penalties against airlines for serious safety violations. These violations took place during a span of September 2023 to February 2024. Throughout this time, Boeing was singularly focused on maintaining its delivery schedule. This decision was made at the cost of following crucial safety mandates.
“So that Boeing could meet its delivery schedule, even though the ODA member determined the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards,” – FAA
When presented with PW’s new findings, a Boeing spokesperson told Reuters that the company was “deeply sorry” for the January accident. The company focused on its commitment to expanding safety practices and increasing quality assurance measures across the company’s operations.
“We regret the January 2024 door-plug accident and continue to work on strengthening our safety culture and improving first-time quality and accountability across our operations,” – Boeing
In response, Boeing laid out a new safety and quality plan. To inject more safety management and quality assurance into its airplane production processes, this initiative, led by the FAA, targets improving safety management and quality assurance.
