FAA Sets 90-Day Deadline for Boeing to Address Safety Issues
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a 90-day deadline to Boeing to formulate a plan to address recurring quality issues and to align with required safety standards in its aircraft manufacturing processes. This comes as the FAA is conducting an audit of Boeing's assembly lines, especially in the wake of a January incident where a 737 Max experienced a door-panel blowout. The issue was reportedly linked to missing bolts after repair work on an Alaska Airlines jet.
The directive follows high-level discussions between FAA officials, including Administrator Mike Whitaker, and Boeing executives, CEO Dave Calhoun among them. As part of the demanded action plan, Boeing is expected to improve its Safety Management System, which it committed to enhancing in 2019. This system is designed to ensure a significant and measurable advancement in manufacturing quality control.
In response to these quality control challenges, Boeing has recently made changes to its management structure, replacing the executive responsible for the 737 manufacturing division. The company, which had to ground nearly 200 of its planes for several weeks due to safety concerns, has not publicly commented on the FAA's latest directive. The pause on plans to increase 737 Max production underscores the gravity of the FAA's safety concerns.
