By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday proposed fining Boeing $3.1 million for a series of safety violations, including actions tied to the January 2024 Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 mid-air emergency, and for interfering with safety officials’ independence.
The FAA found hundreds of quality system violations at the planemaker's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and Boeing subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems’ 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas.
The FAA also said
Boeing presented two unairworthy aircraft to the FAA for airworthiness certificates and failed to follow its quality system rules.
The FAA found that a Boeing employee pressured another Boeing worker performing tasks on behalf of the FAA to sign off on a Boeing 737 MAX airplane so the company could meet its delivery schedule despite the fact the employee had determined the aircraft did not comply with standards.
Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems did not immediately comment.
In June, the National Transportation Safety Board said Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight to prevent the Alaska Airlines mid-air cabin panel blowout that spun the planemaker into a major crisis.
The board harshly criticized Boeing's safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in a MAX 9 during production, as well as ineffective oversight by the FAA.
Earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters the agency had not made any decision on whether to lift the 38 planes per month 737 MAX production cap in place since early 2024, or on how it oversees Boeing production.
The FAA continues to inspect each 737 MAX and 787 aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery. Typically, the FAA delegates airplane ticketing authority to the manufacturer.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter, Rod Nickel)
