Boeing could receive a $3.1 million fine from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over a series of safety violations.
The agency announced the penalty Friday, citing a 2024 midair emergency and failures to meet aircraft worthiness inspections. These incidents have rendered harsh criticism from federal officials, according to Reuters.
In addition to the incidents, the FAA said Boeing attempted to intimidate a worker to sign off on a Boeing 737 MAX airplane to meet a deadline — despite the aircraft’s failure to meet safety standards.
Boeing, in response, said it will “continue to work on strengthening our safety culture and improving first-time quality and accountability across our operations.”
“Last year, under the oversight of the FAA, we instituted a Safety & Quality Plan with key performance indicators to enhance safety management and quality assurance in airplane production,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.
“Our team continues to implement these improvements, such as investing in workforce training, strengthening production system compliance and encouraging employees to speak up,” they continued.
Hundreds of quality system violations were also found at Boeing production sites in Renton, Wash., and at a Boeing subcontractor factory managed by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., according to the Friday release.
Earlier this year, the Spirit AeroSystems supplier furloughed 700 workers for 21 days over an ongoing Boeing employee strike.
In an effort to cut costs, the company has implemented a hiring freeze and eliminated overtime, further slowing production rates for Boeing after two years of controversy for the plane manufacturer.
Currently, the FAA is reviewing each 737 MAX and 787 aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.
The company faces a 38 plane per month production cap on for the 737 MAX aircraft, individually valued at $100 million to $135 million.
FAA administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters the agency had not made any decision on whether to lift the limit, which has been in place for over a year.