FAA tells Boeing to develop a plan to meet safety standards within 90 days
Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration told Boeing Wednesday that the company must develop a comprehensive plan to deal with systemic quality-control issues in order to meet non-negotiable FAA safety standards.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker let Boeing executives know they must provide the agency with a comprehensive safety action plan within 90 days. That plan will have to incorporate results from an FAA production-line audit.
"Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements," Whitaker said after meeting with Boeing executives. "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."
The FAA also said Boeing has to strengthen its Safety Management System program and apply it to company suppliers "and create a measurable, systemic shift in manufacturing quality control."
"Boeing must take a fresh look at every aspect of their quality-control process and ensure that safety is the company's guiding principle," Whitaker said.
The demand comes after Whitaker visited Boeing's Renton, Wash., factory on Feb. 12 to observe the 737 production line and speak with engineers, mechanics and others from the company about its quality control process.
He also visited Alaska Airlines headquarters in the wake of the Jan. 5 incident where the mid-cabin door plug of a Boeing aircraft fell off mid-flight.
That incident prompted the FAA to increase safety oversight of Boeing, which stopped production expansion of the 737 Max while taking steps to comply with the FAA's safety oversight.
Whitaker said Boeing's changes should also incorporate the findings of an FAA report earlier this week that found that Boeing's safety environment is "inadequate and confusing."
That FAA review was ordered by Congress in the wake of two 737 Max jetliner crashed that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.
