Does Boeing have a “safety culture” or a “climate of fear”? This will be one of the subjects investigated in a new probe by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Oct. 18. Boeing is already under multiple investigations into specific problems by the FAA, the Department of Justice, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Boeing also faces more upcoming hearings at a Senate committee, and the FBI has notified passengers of certain flights on Boeing aircraft that they may have been a victim of a crime. The FAA itself has taken heat in Congressional hearings for insufficient oversight and allowing many safety inspections to be done by Boeing employees since 2005. In February, an FAA audit of Boeing found 97 incidents of noncompliance in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling, and product control. In January 2021 Boeing agreed to a plea deal to pay a $2.5 billion fine for fraud against FAA regulators, rather than face criminal prosecution for deaths in airline crashes.
A key feature of the latest investigation of Boeing’s “safety culture” is the alleged retribution against employees who dared open their mouths about problems in Boeing’s production process, or even make suggestions for improvements. For years there has been pressure on Boeing employees not to slow down the assembly line by identifying potential problems, according to Ed Pierson, former senior manager on the 737 program and now director of the nonprofit Foundation for Aviation Safety. Pierson said, “There is a culture where employees on the front lines are learning to keep their mouths shut because of a fear … something could happen to them. The pressure is, ‘Move the plane down the line.’” Instead of a “safety culture” Boeing management has been more focused on a “climate of fear.”
