As Boeing faces multiple whistleblower complaints about safety, the company this week granted special access to production of the 737 Max during a tightly controlled media tour.
The rare glimpse was intended to show changes the company says it is making in real time after a door panel came loose on a Alaska Airlines flight in January.
“I believe the steps we are taking today will make us an even better company,” Boeing Senior Vice President Elizabeth Lund said during the tour.
Boeing said missing paperwork was part of the problem related to the Alaska Airlines incident. According to Lund, the plane left the factory without the bolts that properly installed the door panel in place.
“We believe the plug was opened without the paperwork being corrected,” Lund told the audience. “We believe that allowing the plug to be opened without proper documentation and paperwork violated our processes at the time.” She explained that a moving crew had closed the door when they brought the plane out after it was finally assembled, but were unaware that the bolts had been removed due to the lack of paperwork.
It is this detail that led The National Transportation and Safety Board has now imposed sanctions on Boeing for breaking an agreement and disclosing details that were not public about the agency’s investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident.
In a statement, Boeing apologized and said: “As we continue to take responsibility and operate transparently, we conducted an in-depth briefing on our safety and quality plan and shared context on the lessons learned from the January 5 accident . We deeply regret it. that some of our comments, intended to clarify our responsibility in the accident and explain the actions we are taking, have overstepped the NTSB’s role as a source of investigative information. We apologize to the NTSB and stand ready to answer any questions as the agency continues its investigation.”
Boeing said it is making changes to workforce training to better prepare new employees while increasing the skill level of workers hired since the pandemic.
Katie Ringold, vice president and general manager of the Boeing 737 program, acknowledged the company has work to do but expressed confidence in the quality of the planes rolling off the factory’s lines.
“We are rolling up our sleeves and ready to do that work,” she said.
Boeing also said it is simplifying design plans and processes to make them easier to follow, along with inspecting components such as fuselages before they are delivered in an effort to reduce product defects that enter factories and have slowed production to improve quality to guarantee.
During the media tour of the 737 Max production line, Boeing officials discussed the ability for workers to stop work if they see a problem.
“I feel like people feel a lot more comfortable saying something,” said Dave Prigg, a contributor.
Meanwhile, another whistleblower has come forward and filed a complaint with the FAA. Aircraft mechanic Richard Cuevas says he witnessed substandard manufacturing and maintenance processes on the 787’s forward bulkhead. He was hired by fuselage manufacturer Spirit Aerosystems.
Spirit and Boeing say they are investigating the claims. Boeing said it had previously investigated the allegations, but technical analysis found the issues raised did not pose a safety risk. The aerospace giant says they will review and “thoroughly investigate” Cuevas’ new documentation.
The FAA told CBS News that the agency received 126 whistleblower reports from Boeing from Jan. 5 through May. In all of 2023, the FAA received 11.
In March, Boeing told lawmakers that it would take as long as a year to fix an engine problem on all 737 Max jets.
