The United States aviation watchdog Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made a proposal to fine The Boeing Company a total of $3,139,319 over safety violations between September 2023 and February 2024.
FAA said that the fine is related to the door plug blowout incident during an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024, as well as "hundreds of quality system violations" at Boeing's 737 plant in Renton, Washington, and its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems' 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas.
The September 12 press release read as,
The Federal Aviation Administration issued proposed fines totaling $3,139,319 against The Boeing Company for safety violations that occurred from September 2023 through February 2024.
These include actions related to the January 5, 2024, door plug blowout, and interference with safety officials’ independence. The FAA utilized its maximum statutory civil penalty authority consistent with law.
It's to be noted here, in June this year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) criticized manufacturer Boeing, its supplier Spirit Aerosystems and the Federal Aviation Administration for the horrifying mid-flight blowout incident of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight last year.
The shocking incident happened minutes into a January 2024 flight from Portland, Oregon, when a door plug blew out the side of the plane at about 16,000 feet.
Boeing said it plans to make design changes to the fuselage door plug panel aiming prevention of a future mid-air cabin panel blowout like the one in an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight that landed the aerospace giant into a fresh crisis in recent years.
The FAA added it also concluded that the company presented two unairworthy aircraft to the FAA for airworthiness certificates and failed to follow its quality system" and that an employee was pressured to sign off on a 737-MAX airplane even though they determined the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards.
The press release added further,
Additionally, Boeing presented two unairworthy aircraft to the FAA for airworthiness certificates and failed to follow its quality system.
Furthermore, the FAA found that a non-ODA Boeing employee pressured a Boeing ODA unit member to sign off on a Boeing 737-MAX airplane so Boeing could meet its delivery schedule, even though the ODA member determined the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards.
Apart from the grounding of B737MAX fleet from March 2019 to November 2020 related to a MCAS software which was the reason behind two fatal crashes, Boeing has had a sizable number of quality problems extending back several years. Those have included defects related to Spirit, such as the 737MAX tail fittings and aft pressure bulkhead holes. But, others have been more directly with Boeing, such as a recent loose rudder bolt and nonconformities on 787 composite structures.
Additionally, Quality issues and production flaws with the B787 Dreamliners prompted Boeing to suspend deliveries for more than a year until August 2022 as the FAA investigated the matter. It was again paused for few weeks the following February over issues related to regulatory documents.
In the year 2021, the company said there were instances where the Fuselage section shims of some B787 jets were of inappropriate size. A shim is a thin material that is used to plug gaps in various parts of the aircraft during manufacturing.
However, as a result of all of the latest violations and issues from September 2023 through February 2024, the regulator opted for the maximum civil penalty, giving Boeing 30 days after receiving its letter to respond.
You may like to read......
