Nearly a decade ago, the company reached a wide-ranging settlement with the Federal Aviation Administration over some of the potentially dangerous debris left on its Boeing planes, including metal shavings and tools. In the wake of the 2018 and 2019 fatal crashes, other whistleblowers came forward to Congress, alleging that unrelenting production schedules were creating safety and quality risks at Boeing factories.
Investigators announced that the Alaska Airlines incident on January 5th was caused by a door plug installation error, leading to an investigation by the Justice Department and new concerns from the FAA. It was given 90 days to resolve a number of administrative issues. Discovered during an audit.
Boeing has overcome a serious crisis after the crash that killed 346 people. But since then, the reverberations of bad news that have spiked since January's explosion have weighed on the reputation of the aviation giant, one of only two major airliner manufacturers in the world and a key player in the U.S. economy. seriously injured.
The fallout from the Alaska Airlines incident is now three months old, but there is little prospect of the scrutiny from regulators, safety investigators and now federal prosecutors waning anytime soon. The company's stock price has fallen since January, putting pressure on the 100-year-old company's finances.
“It took a long time to get this low, and it's going to take a long time to recover,” said Nick Cunningham of Aerospace and Defense. Analyst at Agency Partners based in London. “That won't happen within a year.”
Asked for a statement on Tuesday, Boeing pointed to a recent email from Stan Diehl, Boeing's head of commercial aircraft, who said in a message to company employees on Tuesday that progress had already been made. He said he was being watched. Boeing said in a statement early Tuesday that it is taking action based on the FAA audit findings and is “putting together a comprehensive plan of action to enhance safety and quality and build the trust of our customers and their passengers.” Ta.
“We are seriously focused on taking significant, proven actions with transparency at every turn,” the company said.
The FAA has not released the full results of the audit, but FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said at a press conference Monday that the findings go beyond paperwork issues to make sure workers aren't forgetting anything. It also includes information on how the tools were tracked.
The root cause of Boeing's production line problems is not clear, but analysts and some former employees say pressure to meet deadlines and, more recently, employee turnover due to the coronavirus pandemic points out.
For years, former employees of the company have raised concerns about what they see as sloppy work at Boeing's factories. The Senate Commerce Committee documented many of these issues in a December 2021 report following the Max crash, based on reports from seven whistleblowers. The whistleblowers include Ed Pearson, a former 737 aircraft factory manager who said he was responsible for an unusual number of quality control problems at a factory under “relentless schedule pressures.” claimed to be occurring.
“Taken together, these allegations demonstrate the importance of course correction that prioritizes safety and listens to line technicians,” said committee chairwoman Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). ) stated in a letter to the FAA at the time: .
In the wake of the Alaska incident, even small incidents involving Boeing planes are attracting a lot of attention. So was the death of former employee John Barnett, who was discovered dead. The Charleston County Coroner's Office said in a statement on March 9 that he suffered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Charleston Police Department is investigating.
Boeing said in a statement: “We are saddened by the passing of Mr. Barnett and extend our condolences to his family and friends.”
After moving from Washington to work at the Boeing 787 factory in South Carolina in 2010, Barnett, 62, at one point discovered metal shavings left inside the 787 during production and electrical wiring. The company filed a complaint with the FAA saying it could be disconnected. In 2017, the agency issued a directive requiring jets to be cleared of these shavings before being handed over to customers. The FAA said Tuesday it could not provide additional details without a Freedom of Information Act request.
Robert M. Turkewitz, one of Mr. Barnett's attorneys, said the former Boeing quality manager, who joined the company in 1985, was “as decent a person as you can imagine.”
“He was honest, honest and equally dedicated to making air travel safe,” said Turkewitz, who has represented Barnett with Brian Knowles since 2017.
Barnett retired from Boeing that year, 10 years earlier than planned, fearing he would be fired if he didn't quit.
Since leaving the company, Burnett has spoken publicly, sharing his concerns with the New York Times and appearing in a Netflix documentary about the Max crash.
In the film, Mr. Barnett, wearing a light blue shirt, said that Boeing is like a family and that he cares about its employees, and that he was proud to have worked for Boeing for many years. said. Barnett said the company responded quickly when employees identified problems, but the culture began to change.
“So every time I raised my hand and said, 'Hey, we've got a problem here,' they attacked the messenger,” he told the filmmakers.
At the time of his death, Barnett was completing his final day of depositions ahead of a June trial date in a separate whistleblower case he filed against Boeing in 2017. In his complaint, Mr. Burnett claimed that the company punished him for raising concerns about production problems. Boeing denies retaliating against Barnett and asked for his claims to be dismissed. However, the 2022 order dismissed the company's claims.
Lawyers grew concerned when he failed to show up at 10 a.m. Saturday, the last day of depositions in the case, and did not answer calls to his cell phone or to his hotel room. Turkewitz said hotel employees searched his room and then the hotel parking lot and found his distinctive orange pickup truck still parked there. Turkewicz said the hotel manager told him Barnett had been located and that an ambulance was on the way.
“We are shocked and devastated by what happened,” Turkewicz said. “As a lawyer, nothing prepares you for something like this.”
We are continually working to ensure that no tools or parts are left on the plane. This problem for the company was part of the reason for the 2015 settlement agreement between Boeing and the FAA. This included the company agreeing to pay his $12 million penalty and make significant changes to its internal safety systems and practices. The problem persisted. In 2019, the Air Force suspended deliveries of Boeing tankers due to debris concerns. In 2020, while the Max plane was still grounded after the crash, Boeing revealed that the undelivered jet had debris in its fuel tank.
Two recently disclosed safety issues may be indicative of other problems at the company, but both are in the early stages of investigation.
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report into a United Airlines 737 Max crash that resulted in a stuck rudder pedal. Boeing said the problem was resolved by replacing three parts and the plane was returned to service. The company said it is not aware of any other Max models experiencing the problem and has only seen two other cases on older-generation 737s that share the same pedal system.
And on Monday, a 787 operated by Chilean airline LATAM suddenly crashed, injuring 50 people. The company attributed the incident to a “technical event,” but the cause is still under investigation.
Meanwhile, a Justice Department investigation could complicate the resolution of fraud charges against Boeing arising from the crashes. Federal prosecutors are working with a grand jury to determine whether any issues related to the Alaska eruption violate a 2021 agreement that authorities signed with Boeing Co. to help the company avoid prosecution. We are working. The contract was for three years, but before dismissing the charges, prosecutors will need to examine whether Boeing has fulfilled its promise to strengthen its compliance program to prevent wrongdoing.
The Justice Department faces a tough dilemma as it considers whether Boeing meets the terms of the 2021 agreement, said John C. Coffee, a law professor and director of the Center for Corporate Governance at Columbia Law School. said. Criminal charges could lead to layoffs and other consequences for companies important to the U.S. economy.
But if Boeing is found not to meet the terms of the contract, Coffee said, the company should not be given a second chance.
