The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a 90-day deadline for Boeing to address quality and safety issues.
According to the agency, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker and Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun met for a full day on Tuesday, during which Whitaker made the demand.
FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days To Come Up With A Plan To Address Quality Issues
That discussion occurred the day after a year-long FAA-commissioned investigation discovered a “disconnect” between Boeing executives and employees about safety, with employees fearing transfer or stopped career progression for reporting safety issues.
The discussion came ahead of the expected release of a six-week FAA investigation of Boeing’s production line, which was prompted by investigators discovering that key bolts were not put on a Boeing 737 Max 9 door plug that burst open during flight.
The FAA stated that the Boeing plan must address shortcomings in the company’s Safety Management System, or SMS, and integrate the SMS programme with another quality programme. SMS is a guidebook designed to guide staff through the procedures necessary to ensure the safety of flights.
FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days To Come Up With A Plan To Address Quality Issues
However, despite a comprehensive rewrite of the handbook in recent years, the panel discovered that “many Boeing employees did not demonstrate knowledge of Boeing’s SMS efforts, nor its purpose and procedures.”
The group that reported on Boeing’s safety inadequacies on Monday suggested that the firm resolve those flaws within six months; the FAA’s new directive sets a shorter deadline.
FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days To Come Up With A Plan To Address Quality Issues
Boeing’s proposal must result in a “measurable, systemic shift in manufacturing quality control,” according to the FAA.
Boeing has a history of safety breaches. The January 5 blowout incident resulted in a 19-day emergency grounding of all Max 9s and renewed scrutiny of Boeing following the tragic Max 8 disasters in 2018 and 2019.
SOURCE – (CNN)
