Senate Report Doesn't Spare Boeing—or the FAA

Following the January door plug incident, 'schedule pressure is still significant'
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 25, 2024 12:55 PM CDT
Senate Report Doesn't Spare Boeing—or the FAA
A worker walks into Boeing's factory on Tuesday in Renton, Washington.   (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The results of a Senate Permanent Subcommittee special investigation of Boeing's safety culture and practices are out, and they aren't going to be a source of relief for the beleaguered company. KOMO reports the report, in which it was revealed that Boeing factory workers felt pressured to focus on production speed over quality, was published ahead of Wednesday's hearing with FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker. Standout findings:

  • "An internal Boeing survey [conducted in mid-May and] obtained by the Subcommittee reveals employee concerns that go directly to the heart of whether Boeing's safety culture has improved in the months since the door plug incident or the years since the two 737 MAX crashes. ... Boeing concluded that the survey of approximately 2,100 manufacturing personnel indicates, 'Schedule pressure is still significant.'"

  • That May 2024 survey also found just 47% of employees responded favorably to the statement, "Schedule pressures do not cause my team to lower our standards."
  • "During a special audit conducted in January and February 2024, the FAA recorded 23 examples 'where employees failed to follow processes or lacked proficiency.'"
  • "Boeing continues to fail to ensure that nonconforming parts are appropriately documented, stored, and dispositioned so that they are not installed on aircraft."
  • "In some fabrication and sub-assembly aspects of Boeing's production in Puget Sound and Salt Lake City, Utah, facilities, Boeing personnel are allowed to inspect the quality of their own work."
  • "The FAA's special audit findings show that frontline manufacturing personnel sometimes lacked the tools necessary for a given production task, sometimes leading them to rely on unauthorized and improvised means to perform critical work." The report cites the example of a mechanic who has for years used a measuring scale he made and keeps in his wallet to check the size of a gap between components.

CNN reports that Whitaker testified in June that the FAA took a "too-hands-off" approach to its regulation of Boeing, and it notes "the new report doesn't spare the FAA." The report reads in part, "These findings demonstrate an ongoing and persistent struggle by the FAA to ensure that Boeing is maintaining the highest safety standards across its manufacturing facilities. ... The newly released information raises questions about the effectiveness of the FAA's oversight of the company." (More Boeing stories.)

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