US legislators put Boeing under fire over safety pledges

The crisis at Boeing has caused disruption to growth plans at airlines around the world, including at Ryanair, whose fleets are based almost solely on the US plane maker

Wed, 17 Apr, 2024 - 19:29

US legislators challenged Boeing Co. to expend the necessary time and effort to reset its safety culture and criticised the plane maker’s relationship with regulators as "too cozy".

Boeing needs to be judged by what it does, not by what it says it’s doing, Senator Tammy Duckworth said in her opening remarks at the senate commerce committee in Washington.

The Federal Aviation Administration, for its part, has been too soft at times policing the company. That, in turn, “sends an unmistakable message to both Boeing and its employees that bad behavior is acceptable”, Ms Duckworth said.

“There’s still a long way to go to bring an effective safety culture back to Boeing,” the senator from Illinois said.

The hearing was the first of two in Washington on the same day to explore Boeing’s safety record in the wake of a near-catastrophic accident in January, as well as two crashes of 737 Max aircraft a few years ago.

The second panel is focused on claims by a Boeing engineer turned whistleblower, who alleges the company has cut corners in the production of its 787 airliner, placing profitability over safety.

As a result, the aircraft might show premature signs of fatigue because the company failed to properly close gaps in the fuselage sections when they are pieced together, he has alleged.

In 10 pages of written testimony, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour said he’s observed “a culture that prioritises speed of production over safety and quality, and incentivizes management to overlook significant defects in Boeing’s airplanes".

Despite what Boeing officials state publicly, there is no safety culture at Boeing.

"Employees like me who speak up about defects with its production activities and lack of quality control are ignored, marginalised, threatened, sidelined, and worse,” he said in the written testimony.

Mr Salehpour said that, in June 2021, he invited about 30 Boeing employees to a meeting to discuss his concerns about excessive force compromising safety by deforming the fuselage barrels as they were fitted together.

He said his direct manager forced him to have a shorter meeting with “only a few of my requested attendees”.

After he escalated his concerns, the responses from above became increasingly hostile, Mr Salehpour said. Ultimately, he was transferred to the 777 programme in retaliation for his whistleblower activity.

The crisis at Boeing has caused disruption to growth plans at airlines around the world, including at Ryanair, whose fleets are based almost solely on the US plane maker.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Wednesday that Ryanair expects Boeing to deliver 40 new jets by mid-July, broadly in line with a revised schedule he had previously announced.

Speaking at a news conference in Rome, Mr O'Leary said Ryanair plans to receive 35 plans from Boeing by the end of June and a further five in first two weeks of July. The airline was initially due to receive 57 Boeing Max 8 planes by the end of April.

The focus has already turned to Ryanair's huge order for the still-to-be-certified Max 10 planes.

The airline hopes to start taking delivery of some of the massive order starting in less than 36 months.

Last May, it said it had ordered 300 new Max 10 planes worth over $40bn (€36.5bn). The deal includes a firm commitment for 150 of the planes and an option for 150 more, with the first planes due for delivery from 2027.