The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, prompted by the January 5 incident involving a new, Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.
The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control. The FAA is providing these details to the public as an update to the agency’s
ongoing investigation.
The audit is one of the immediate oversight actions the FAA took after a left mid-cabin door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5 while in flight. At a meeting at FAA Headquarters in Washington, DC, last week, Administrator Mike Whitaker informed Boeing’s CEO and other senior leaders that the company must address the audit’s findings as part of its comprehensive corrective action plan to fix systemic quality-control issues. The plan must also address the findings from the
expert review panel report that examined Boeing’s safety culture. The FAA has given Boeing 90 days to outline its action plan.
To hold Boeing accountable for its production quality issues, the FAA has halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX, is exploring the use of a third party to conduct independent reviews of quality systems, and will continue its increased onsite presence at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Washington, and Spirit AeroSystems’ facility in Wichita, Kansas.
The FAA will thoroughly review all of Boeing’s corrective actions to determine if they fully address the FAA’s findings.
The FAA provided both companies with a summary of the audit findings.