Boeing, the troubled jet firm based in the US, is facing a new investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after it revealed that it may not have properly inspected its 787 Dreamliner planes. The FAA announced that it will investigate whether Boeing staff falsified records, following a report by the company last month that it may not have completed necessary inspections to confirm adequate electrical safeguards in certain 787 Dreamliners.
This latest probe comes after a series of issues at Boeing since January, when an emergency exit door blew off a new 737 Max 9 plane shortly after take-off. This incident led to the temporary grounding of numerous planes and increased regulatory oversight. In March, CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would step down by the end of the year. Last month, whistleblowers testified before Congress about their concerns regarding the 787, with one individual stating that his warnings were dismissed by the company.
Boeing has been actively working to reform its corporate culture to encourage employees to speak out about potential issues. Since January, there has been a “more than 500% increase” in reports from employees. Internally, Boeing informed staff that the “misconduct” did not pose an immediate safety issue, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. However, shares in the company fell more than 1% after news of the investigation broke.
The FAA stated that it will investigate whether Boeing completed the inspections and if company employees may have falsified aircraft records. If found guilty of falsifying records, Boeing could face serious consequences and potentially lose contracts with major airlines around the world.
