The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has instructed Boeing to develop a plan within 90 days to rectify serious quality and safety issues. As reported by CNN, the directive follows a day-long meeting between FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker and Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, during which Whitaker made the demand. This move comes after a year-long FAA-commissioned probe revealed a “disconnect” between Boeing executives and employees regarding safety concerns, with employees expressing fears of reassignment or stalled career growth for reporting such issues.
The meeting occurred ahead of the expected release of a six-week FAA audit of Boeing’s production line, initiated after investigators found critical bolts missing from a Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug that blew open mid-flight.
The FAA specified the Boeing plan must address weaknesses in implementing the company’s safety management system (SMS) and integrate the SMS programme with another quality programme. Despite a recent overhaul of the manual guiding employees on safety procedures, the panel found a lack of knowledge among many Boeing employees about the SMS efforts, its purpose and procedures.
While a panel reported Boeing’s safety shortcomings on Monday, February 26, recommending a six-month timeline for addressing the issues, the FAA’s new directive sets a faster pace. The FAA insists that Boeing’s resulting plan must lead to a “measurable, systemic shift in manufacturing quality control.”
Boeing faced a 19-day emergency grounding of all MAX 9s after a January 5, blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines’ aircraft.
