By Sita Planasari
Copyright tempo
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States (US) has proposed a fine of $3.1 million on Boeing for safety violations over the weekend. As reported by NPR, the proposed fine is for safety violations committed by Boeing from September 2023 to February 2024.FAA revealed that hundreds of quality control violations were identified at the Boeing 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and Boeing 737 subcontractor factory, Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas.The US aviation authority explained that the violations were related to the accident of an Alaska Airlines jet that caused the aircraft to lose a door panel in mid-flight.In January 2024, the door plug of Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9 came off shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.However, none of the 171 passengers or six crew members suffered serious injuries. The pilot successfully landed the aircraft back at the airport.In June, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that the 17-month-long investigation found negligence in Boeing’s manufacturing oversight and safety, coupled with ineffective FAA inspections and audits, led to the door plug blowout.Among other violations, the regulator also found that a Boeing employee pressured members of Boeing’s ODA unit, responsible for conducting certain inspections and certifications on behalf of the FAA. Pressure was exerted to approve the 737 Max aircraft “so that Boeing could meet its delivery schedule, even though the ODA member determined that the aircraft did not meet applicable standards.”In a statement on Saturday, Boeing’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, said that they are reviewing the FAA’s proposed civil penalty.Boeing also stated that they have implemented safety and quality oversight improvement plans last year aimed at enhancing safety management and quality assurance.”We regret the jammed door incident in January 2024 and continue to strengthen our safety culture and improve quality and accountability across our operations,” the company said.The Max version of the Boeing 737 has been a continual source of problems for the company since two of the planes crashed, one in Indonesia in 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in 2019, resulting in a total of 346 fatalities.Editor’s Choice: Boeing Says Indonesia Needs 600 New Aircraft to Match Aviation GrowthClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
