FAA Accuses: Boeing misses key elements of Safety Culture

The FAA attributed a deficient safety culture to Boeing in a 50-page report released on Monday, following public outcry over numerous safety lapses preceding the January 5 incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9, where a door plug “blew out” mid-flight.

An expert panel, scrutinizing the company’s employment culture, identified what it termed as deficiencies in Boeing’s safety journey, with a majority of employees lacking “skillful awareness” of concepts like just culture and reporting culture.

The panel also highlighted the absence of a consistent and clear safety reporting channel or process within the business unit. It noted employees’ confusion regarding the utilization of different reporting systems and when to use them, expressing concern that this confusion might deter employees from reporting safety issues they observe.

Conclusively, the report stated that despite Boeing previously outlining a roadmap for implementing an Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) and safety management systems (SMS), the company had yet to fully enact the changes outlined in the roadmap.

As a recommendation, the report suggested that Boeing formulate an action plan incorporating a “milestone-based” approach to address each recommendation and share the outcomes with the FAA.