The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing more than $3.1 million in fines against Boeing for safety violations that occurred over a six-month span, including the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout in January 2024.
On Friday, the U.S. government agency announced it has "issued proposed fines totaling $3,139,319 against The Boeing Company for safety violations that occurred from September 2023 through February 2024."
"The FAA identified hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and Boeing subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems’ 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas," according to the agency. "Additionally, Boeing presented two unairworthy aircraft to the FAA for airworthiness certificates and failed to follow its quality system."
FAA officials also say they found that a non-ODA Boeing employee pressured a Boeing ODA unit member to sign off on a Boeing 737-MAX airplane so that the aircraft manufacturer could meet its delivery schedule. The troubling incident happened despite the ODA member determining the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards, the agency alleges.
Boeing responded to Friday's announcement, telling The Hill that it will "continue to work on strengthening our safety culture and improving first-time quality and accountability across our operations."
"Last year, under the oversight of the FAA, we instituted a Safety & Quality Plan with key performance indicators to enhance safety management and quality assurance in airplane production," a company spokesperson said.
"Our team continues to implement these improvements, such as investing in workforce training, strengthening production system compliance and encouraging employees to speak up."
According to the FAA, Boeing has 30 days after receiving the FAA's penalty letters to respond to the agency.
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