Boeing has been experiencing rough skies since a door plug blew off on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet in January.
The airline giant is deeply involved in the US aviation industry: Boeing makes two out of every three planes flying in the US, CEO David Calhoun told a Senate subcommittee last week, and the company receives billions of dollars in revenue each year from the federal government, primarily the Department of Defense.
But a series of high-profile accidents and whistle-blowing allegations of manufacturing errors, mishandling of defective parts and retaliation led to a number of notable Aircraft manufacturers are committed to prioritizing safety and quality over profits.
“For more than 20 years, this company’s management has been trying to mine it for parts and sell it,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) told The Hill.
“They’ve cut corners, they’ve cut expenses, they’ve not given their employees raises, they’ve outsourced everything they can and they’ve tried to squeeze every last bit of profit out of it. As a result, their planes are literally falling out of the sky.”
Hawley and a bipartisan group of senators grilled Calhoun last week at a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing about the airline’s “broken” safety culture, his first public testimony since the Alaska Airlines explosion.
“From the beginning, we have taken responsibility and cooperated transparently with the NTSB. [Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)] “In each investigation, we took immediate steps in our factories and in our supply chain to ensure that the specific conditions that led to this accident never happen again,” Calhoun said in his opening statement.
The Justice Department is also considering whether to prosecute the company for violating a 2021 settlement agreement related to two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in 2018 and 2019.
Amid the threat of federal prosecution and intense regulatory scrutiny, these five questions could shape Boeing’s future and its legacy.
Boeing declined to comment.
What makes Boeing different?
After an FAA audit found multiple “compliance violations” in Boeing’s manufacturing process controls, parts handling and storage, and product management, the FAA ordered Boeing to conduct a comprehensive quality and safety review within 90 days.
Boeing on May 30 announced plans to invest in employee training, streamline processes, eliminate defects and promote a culture of safety and quality.
The plan includes an additional 300 hours of training material, placing “workplace coaches and peer trainers” on production lines and increasing the amount of time managers spend on the factory floor.
Boeing also proposed to conduct quality inspections and approvals of 737 aircraft before they are delivered, resume daily compliance inspections, implement a pilot program to reduce truck rolls and streamline hundreds of quality-related commands to eliminate duplication and inconsistency.
The company also announced that it has ordered approximately 7,500 new tools and equipment.
“We are confident in our proposed plan and are committed to continuous improvement, operating under the oversight of the FAA and meeting our commitment to our customers by continuing to supply safe, high-quality airplanes,” Stephanie Pope, Boeing’s chief operating officer and a potential candidate to succeed Calhoun as CEO at the end of the year, said in a statement on May 30.
Did Boeing’s safety plan meet the FAA’s expectations?
FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee earlier this month that the implementation of the plan marks “the beginning of the next chapter in renewed focus and enforcement of safety at Boeing.”
“Boeing developed a corrective action plan with detailed input from the FAA throughout the process,” an FAA spokesperson told The Hill.
“We will ensure that they follow through on all corrective actions, that the fixes are effective, and that they have the right tools to sustain those changes over the long term.”
The FAA also proposed several specific steps to help Boeing achieve its mission in the next chapter.
“We have added safety inspectors to Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems facilities and will maintain our increased on-site staffing for the time being,” an FAA spokesman said.
Regulators also plan to have a team of FAA experts continually review Boeing’s progress toward meeting its goals, hold weekly meetings between senior Boeing and FAA officials to go over performance metrics and challenges, and spend more time talking to actual employees about the progress of the changes.
“Systemic change is never easy, but in this case it’s absolutely necessary. Whether it’s Boeing, the airlines or the FAA, the work on passenger safety is never done. But we will hold the company accountable every step of the way to ensure these changes are implemented,” Whitaker said. May 30th Statement.
Can Boeing change its ‘broken’ safety culture?
At a hearing last week, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations alleged that Boeing has a “broken” safety culture and highlighted the dangers the company faces as it looks to the future.
“We are here to see Boeing succeed. Boeing needs to succeed for the jobs it provides, the local economies it supports, American travelers and our military,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate subcommittee, said in his opening remarks.
Boeing has announced plans to overhaul its safety and quality culture, and the FAA has pledged to implement the reforms, but multiple whistleblower allegations have raised questions about the company’s commitment and ability to implement the proposed changes.
Will there be more whistleblowers?
Several whistleblowers have accused Boeing of cutting corners to boost profits and retaliating against employees who spoke out. Blumenthal announced the new whistleblower complaint last week, hours before Calhoun was set to testify.
Sam Mohawk, a Boeing quality assurance inspector in Renton, Washington, has alleged that the company mishandled hundreds of defective parts that may have been installed in planes including the 737 Max, and that he was retaliated against when he raised concerns.
“Boeing’s culture is fine as far as employees are concerned; it’s management that’s the problem,” said Hawley, a Missouri native. Boeing has approximately 17,000 employeesAccording to the company’s website.
Blumenthal told The Hill that he continues to hear from the whistleblower.
“We’re in discussions right now. We want to make sure that whatever we put out there is credible and authentic,” Blumenthal said.
Will the Department of Justice prosecute Boeing?
The Department of Justice (DOJ) may soon file criminal charges against Boeing for violating settlements that allowed the company and its executives to avoid prosecution after two Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
In 2021, federal prosecutors charged Boeing with conspiring to defraud the United States for failing to report to the FAA problems with its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System software that played a key role in both crashes.
but, The same statementThe Department of Justice announced it would defer prosecution after the company agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine, including $500 million to be paid to the families and beneficiaries of the accident victims.
The Justice Department said last month that Boeing violated the agreement by “failing to design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws throughout its business activities.”
The department has to decide whether to indict Boeing by next Sunday, July 7. Reuters reported on Sunday that federal prosecutors were recommending criminal charges to the Justice Department.
Family members of victims from the 2018 and 2019 crashes last week called on federal prosecutors to pursue “aggressive criminal prosecutions” against Boeing.
“Boeing’s crimes are the worst corporate crimes in American history, and a maximum fine of more than $24 billion is legally justified and clearly appropriate, although the fine may be partially suspended if the funds are used to invest in proper quality control and safety measures,” wrote Paul Cassell, attorney for the victims’ families.
Updated 10:07 a.m.
