KEY TAKEAWAYS
- There is a “a disconnect” between Boeing’s senior management and its employees when it comes to “safety culture,” concludes a report released Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration.
- It criticizes internal reporting systems that may not be conducive to staff being willing to openly raise safety problems.
- The independent report was commissioned before last month’s Alaska Airlines mid-air incident, where a panel blew off and forced an emergency landing, but the report notes “serious quality issues” of late.
There is a “a disconnect” between Boeing’s (BA) senior management and its employees when it comes to “safety culture,” a report released Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration has concluded.
The report, which was written by a panel of independent aviation experts, said there was a “lack of awareness of safety-related metrics at all levels of the organization” and that the airline’s safety procedures were not only complex but always changing, contributing to “employee confusion.”
It said, however, that staff may fear raising safety problems and internal reporting systems may not “function in a way that ensures open communication and non-retaliation.”
The report was commissioned by Congress in the wake of two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
It doesn’t refer to the grounding by the FAA of Boeing’s MAX 9 fleet after last month’s Alaska Airlines mid-air incident, where a panel blew off and forced an emergency landing. But it noted that “on several occasions during the expert panel’s activities, serious quality issues with Boeing products became public.”
The panel issued 53 recommendations, including creating an autonomous investigation process so managers can report issues without fear of retaliation.
Boeing shares, which were little changed as of 11:00 a.m. ET Tuesday, are down 20% this year.