‘Not a One-Year Project’: FAA Vows to Continue Boeing Scrutiny

On Friday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, who contended with the fallout from the incident just a few weeks into his tenure, said the agency’s work is far from over.

“Our enhanced oversight is here to stay,” Whitaker said in a blog post. “But this is not a one-year project.”

The FAA has been investigating Boeing alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which in February revealed the lost door plug was missing several critical bolts.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy in March testified that the company was stonewalling the investigation, while a Department of Transportation audit described FAA oversight of Boeing’s 737 and 787 production lines as “not effective.”

During an unprecedented two-day hearing in August, NTSB officials grilled Boeing representatives about the firm’s shoddy oversight and its “you mess up, you get moved” mentality against workers who report safety concerns.

“I spoke with our safety experts and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to get all the facts and inputs before making the decision to issue an emergency airworthiness directive grounding all Max aircraft built with this type of plug door,” Whitaker said Friday. “That soon led to a series of unprecedented steps that dramatically transformed how we oversee Boeing.”

The FAA chief said the agency has added inspectors on Boeing factory floors, conducted an “unprecedented number” of audits, capped 737 Max production, and required the manufacturer to create an action plan “to fix its systemic production quality problems.”

After meeting with both leadership and employees about the firm’s safety culture, the FAA in the past year received a “surge” of safety reports.

“And that’s encouraging,” Whitaker said. “An increase in reports—whether at a manufacturer, an airline, or at the FAA—can be one sign of a healthy safety culture.”

Toward the end of the 53-day Boeing machinists’ strike earlier this year, Whitaker said he hammered home the importance of safety to CEO Kelly Ortberg.

“It’s clear that message hit home, as Boeing spent a full month post-strike making sure the necessary safety steps were taken before restarting production,” he said.

Whitaker added that the FAA is keeping a close eye on how Boeing executes its plan to improve safety, quality, and employee training. But it’s not a simple fix.

“What’s needed is a fundamental cultural shift at Boeing that’s oriented around safety and quality above profits,” Whitaker said. “That will require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.”

Off-loading other units could help Boeing streamline its efforts to improve the culture of its core business.

In October, for example, it was reported that Ortberg is weighing the sale of its space business, which developed the beleaguered Starliner spacecraft. A few months prior, reports emerged that Boeing and Lockheed Martin could sell United Launch Alliance, a space launch joint venture they created in 2006.

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