May 7 (UPI) — Boeing is facing a new investigation, this time over falsified inspection reports on its 787 Dreamliner.
The Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation Monday after Boeing “voluntarily informed us in April that it may not have completed required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes.” The inspection was ordered despite inspection reports saying the work was completed.
“The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records,” the federal safety agency told The Seattle Times via email.
According to the FAA, Boeing has said it will inspect all Dreamliners currently in production in South Carolina and will develop a plan to inspect those planes that are currently flying.
Boeing has faced intense scrutiny since January when a passenger cabin panel blew out an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9, forcing an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in Oregon.
Scott Stocker, the Boeing executive who oversees 787 production, called any falsified reports “misconduct,” while insisting there is not “an immediate safety of flight issue.”
“But it will impact our customers and factory teammates, because the test now needs to be conducted out of sequence on airplanes in the build process,” Stocker said, adding that Boeing has “zero tolerance for not following processes designed to ensure quality and safety.”
“Several people had been violating company policies by not performing a required test, but recording work as having been completed,” Stocker wrote in a memo, shared with CNN.
“We promptly informed our regulator about what we learned and are taking swift and serious corrective action with multiple teammates,” the memo said, as Stocker said Boeing plans to “celebrate” the employee who called their attention to the problem.
“I want to personally thank and commend that teammate for doing the right thing,” Stocker said. “It’s critical that every one of us speak up when we see something that may not look right.”
