A year after a panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max mid-flight, the nation’s top aviation regulator says the company needs "a fundamental cultural shift” to put safety and quality above profits.
Mike Whitaker, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in an online post on Friday that his agency also has more work to do in its oversight of Boeing.
Whitaker, who plans to step down in two weeks to let President-elect Donald Trump pick his own FAA administrator, looked back on his decision last January to ground all 737 Max jets with similar panels called door plugs. Later, the FAA put more inspectors in Boeing factories, limited production of new 737s, and required Boeing to come up with a plan to fix manufacturing problems.
“Boeing is working to make progress executing its comprehensive plan in the areas of safety, quality improvement and effective employee engagement and training,” Whitaker said. “But this is not a one-year project. What’s needed is a fundamental cultural shift at Boeing that’s oriented around safety and quality above profits. That will require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.”
The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the door-plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Max jet. Despite a gaping hole in the side, pilots landed the plane safely in Portland, Oregon, and no serious injuries were reported.
A month after the accident, investigators said in a preliminary report that bolts used to help secure the panel were not replaced after work in a Boeing factory.
Whitaker said the FAA will review any recommendations that the safety board makes to improve FAA's oversight work. Last summer, he admitted that FAA's scrutiny of Boeing wasn't good enough.
2024 was already a dispiriting year for the American aviation giant. But when one of the company’s jets crash-landed in South Korea on last sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially poor year.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday’s incident from the company’s earlier safety problems.
