A “profound shift” in Boeing’s safety culture is needed for the company to address quality assurance and production problems, including issues tied to the Jan. 5 blowout of a plug door on a 737 MAX, Michael Whitaker, administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says.
In testimony Tuesday to a U.S. House aviation subcommittee, Whitaker said that, after the accident, the FAA grounded all 737-9 MAX airplanes that had the same door plug configuration, increased oversight of Boeing and worked with the company on plans to improve employee training, to encourage employees who see potential safety problems to report them, and to increase quality oversight.
“There must be a profound shift in the company’s safety culture to holistically address its systemic quality assurance and production issues,” Whitaker said. “Our goal is to make sure Boeing implements the necessary changes and has the right tools in place to sustain those changes in the long term.”
…
