The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed fines totaling $3,139,319 against The Boeing Company for a series of safety violations that took place between September 2023 and February 2024. The violations include incidents related to the January 5, 2024, door plug blowout and concerns about interference with the independence of safety officials.
According to the FAA, its review found hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing’s 737 manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, as well as at Spirit AeroSystems’ 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas. The agency also reported that Boeing presented two aircraft deemed unairworthy for airworthiness certificates and did not follow its established quality procedures.
In addition to these findings, the FAA stated that "a non-ODA Boeing employee pressured a Boeing ODA unit member to sign off on a Boeing 737-MAX airplane so Boeing could meet its delivery schedule, even though the ODA member determined the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards."
The FAA emphasized it used its maximum statutory civil penalty authority under current law when proposing these fines. Boeing has been given 30 days from receipt of the penalty letters to respond to the agency.
