Boeing

National

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down, part of a shakeup after 737 Max problems

12:29pm March 25, 2024

After several difficult months, Boeing announced its embattled chief executive will step down at the end of this year. In January, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max had an in-flight door plug blowout.

A photo from the National Transportation Safety Board shows seats that were near the door plug expelled from a Boeing 737 Max 9 in flight. Seats 26A and 26B were unoccupied — a fact that helped prevent the incident from being worse, officials said.

National

FBI letter tells Alaska Airlines passengers they are 'a possible victim of a crime'

3:47pm March 22, 2024

by Bill Chappell

"We want answers, accountability, and safer planes" — and a federal investigation will help, an attorney representing passengers who were on the plane that lost its door plug tells NPR.

A Medford Jet Center worker walks under a United Boeing 737-824 that landed at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport from San Francisco with a missing panel on Friday in Medford, Ore.

National

An older Boeing plane found with missing panel after landing in Oregon

12:39am March 16, 2024

by The Associated Press

A post-flight inspection revealed a missing panel on an Boeing 737-800 that had just arrived at its destination in southern Oregon on Friday after flying from San Francisco, officials said.

Boeing 787 Dreamliners are built at the aviation company's North Charleston, S.C., assembly plant in 2023. John Barnett had alleged that Boeing's manufacturing practices had declined and that managers pressured workers not to document potential defects and problems.

National

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who raised alarm over plane quality, is found dead

5:31pm March 12, 2024

by Bill Chappell

John Barnett made headlines when he went public, saying he wouldn't trust planes made in South Carolina to be airworthy. His family says Barnett suffered PTSD and anxiety from his work at Boeing.

A unfinished Boeing 737 Max sits outside Boeing's manufacturing facility in Renton, Wash., on Feb. 27, 2024. The top federal safety investigator says Boeing still has not provided key information that could shed light on what went wrong when a door plug blew off an in-flight 737 Max 9 in January.

Boeing is withholding key details about door plug on Alaska 737 Max 9 jet, NTSB says

6:33pm March 06, 2024

by Joel Rose

At a Senate hearing, the top federal safety investigator said Boeing has still not provided crucial details about who opened the door plug from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max jet before a midair blowout.

Boeing workers at the Renton Municipal Airport in Washington finalize assembly of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet on Feb. 27. An FAA audit faulted Boeing for "multiple instances" of quality control shortcomings.

National

FAA audit faults Boeing for 'multiple instances' of quality control shortcomings

5:05pm March 04, 2024

The findings, part of a six-week audit by the FAA, singled out both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems in the wake of January's in-flight door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet.

Workers and an unpainted Boeing 737 Max aircraft are pictured as the company's factory teams held a "Quality Stand Down" for the 737 program at Boeing's factory in Renton, Wash. on January 25, 2024.

National

The FAA gives Boeing 90 days to fix quality control issues. Critics say they run deep

4:44pm February 28, 2024

by Joel Rose

Boeing has 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality control issues, the FAA said Wednesday. Critics say those problems go far beyond the door plug that blew off a 737 Max in midair last month.

Boeing announced a management shakeup - including the ouster of the leader of the 737 Max production line. At the Singapore Airshow, miniature models of Boeing aircraft including the 737 Max (front) are displayed on February 21, 2024.

National

Boeing ousts the head of its troubled 737 Max program after quality control concerns

3:45pm February 21, 2024

by Joel Rose

The Boeing executive who oversaw the troubled 737 Max program, Ed Clark, has left the company. It's part of a broader management shakeup after a door plug panel blew off a jet in midair last month.

A 737 Max 8 undergoes final assembly inside Boeing's factory in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems makes the fuselages and ships them to Washington. A series of production issues at Spirit have led to problems.

National

Why problems at a key Boeing supplier may help explain the company's 737 Max 9 mess

5:05am February 05, 2024

by Joel Rose

Federal investigators are scrutinizing Spirit AeroSystems, a major Boeing supplier based in Kansas, as they try to understand why a fuselage panel blew off an Alaska Airlines jet in midair last month.

An unpainted Boeing 737 Max 8 is parked at Renton Municipal Airport adjacent to Boeing's factory in Renton, Wash. on January 25, 2024. Boeing is still reeling from the fallout of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 which lost a part of its fuselage in mid-flight earlier in the month.

National

Boeing declines to give a financial outlook as it focuses on quality and safety

2:57pm January 31, 2024

by Joel Rose

In a call with investors, Boeing's CEO didn't offer a financial outlook for 2024. He said the company is focused on quality and safety after a fuselage panel blew off a 737 Max-9 jet in midair.