The Federal Aviation Administration said it is proposing $3.1 million in fines against Boeing for safety violations in late 2023 and early 2024, according to a press release from the government agency on Friday.
The safety violations include an incident on January 5, 2024 , when a door latch fell off an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon. The door latch fell off a Boeing 737 Max 9 while in flight, although fortunately no one was injured.
The door plug was eventually found in a Portland teacher’s backyard and highlighted recent safety concerns after two fatal crashes, one in 2018, in 2019 that killed a total of 346 people. Boeing reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year to avoid criminal charges in those crashes.
A fine of just $3.1 million may not seem like much for such a large company, but the FAA considers it “the maximum statutory civil penalty that is consistent with the law.”
The FAA also notes that a Boeing employee pressured an FAA member of the Organization Designation Authority (ODA) to sign off on a Boeing 737-Max plane so the planemaker could meet its delivery schedule. The FAA has faced criticism for not being sufficiently independent of the companies it regulates.
The FAA fine also covers various quality control issues, as the agency explains in a press release:
The FAA identified hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and Boeing subcontractor Spirit Aerosystems’ 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas. In addition, Boeing submitted two non-returnable aircraft to the FAA for certification, which were air cargo transactions and did not comply with its quality system.
Reached for comment by email, a Boeing spokesperson said the company regrets the door accident and continues to work to “strengthen our safety culture and improve first-time quality and accountability in our operations.”
“Last year, under the supervision of the FAA, we developed a safety and quality plan with key performance indicators to improve safety management and quality assurance in airplane manufacturing,” the statement continued. “Our team continues to implement these improvements, such as investing in workforce training, strengthening manufacturing system compliance, and encouraging employee performance.”
Boeing has 30 days to respond to the FAA’s letter about the proposed fines. The full letter has not been made public. The agency did not respond to emailed questions Friday evening. Gizmodo will update this post when we hear back.
