FAA issues 90-day ultimatum to Boeing to address quality issues

This comes after a mid-air emergency last month, when a door panel detached on a brand new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft. The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing from 16,000 feet with a gaping hole.

Following an all-day safety discussion at FAA Headquarters, a meeting that included Boeing Chief Executive Officer and President Dave Calhoun and his senior safety team, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said: “Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements. Making foundational change will require a sustained effort from Boeing’s leadership, and we are going to hold them accountable every step of the way, with mutually understood milestones and expectations.”

Whitaker told the aviation company that he expects the company to provide the FAA with a comprehensive action plan within 90 days that will incorporate the forthcoming results of the FAA production-line audit and the latest findings from the expert review panel report, which was required by the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act of 2020.

That expert panel review report was highly critical of the manufacturer’s safety management processes, saying it suffered from “inadequate and confusing implementation of the components of a positive safety culture”.

The plan must also include steps Boeing will take to mature its Safety Management System (SMS) programme, which it committed to in 2019, and that the SMS programme be integrated with a Quality Management System, which will ensure the same level of rigour and oversight is applied to the company’s suppliers and create a measurable, systemic shift in manufacturing quality control.

In a statement, Calhoun said the company’s leadership team was “totally committed” to addressing FAA concerns and added: “We have a clear picture of what needs to be done. Boeing will develop the comprehensive action plan with measurable criteria that demonstrate the profound change that Administrator Whitaker and the FAA demand.”

Boeing’s production rate cap

The aircraft manufacturer’s production rate has been capped by the FAA and its operations closely scrutinised by lawmakers and customers following the January 5 incident. The new FAA statement raises fresh questions about how long the production rate freeze will last.

Reuters reported that the FAA meetings with Calhoun lasted more than seven hours, and other participants included Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO; Elizabeth Lund, the new head of quality, and Mike Fleming, Boeing senior vice president and general manager, airplane programs.