An FAA-appointed panel of experts has heavily criticized the safety culture at US aircraft manufacturer Boeing in a report published yesterday.
The report was published after a year-long investigation started in March 2023 and was ordered in response to the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. A panel of 24 experts reviewed 4,000 pages of documents, seven surveys, 250 interviews and meetings with employees at six different Boeing sites for the report.
The members of the panel included experts from the FAA, NASA, Boeing, trade unions, industry associations and academic and industry experts in aerospace and safety.
Although the report found Boeing’s safety management system (SMS) met international and national standards, it identified a “disconnect” between senior management and other members of staff. It also found there was fear of retaliation for reporting safety concerns and “a lack of awareness of safety-related metrics at all levels of the organization”.
“Managers that are authorized to oversee performance evaluations, salary decisions, promotions and disciplinary actions might also be tasked with investigative duties in the SMS…This dual responsibility and authority creates, among some employees, hesitation in reporting safety concerns for fear of retaliation,” said the report.
In other areas, the experts found “inadequate and confusing implementation of the five components of a safety culture” and cited poor consideration of human factors aspects of design, as well as a lack of pilot input when designing aircraft.
The report makes 53 recommendations for Boeing to start acting on within six months. These include improving the communication of safety messages, developing metrics to assess personal awareness levels of safety amongst staff including regular surveys and the creation of autonomous safety reporting channels.
Boeing said in a statement, “We transparently supported the panel’s review and appreciate their work. We’ve taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to share their voice. But there is more work to do. We will carefully review the panel’s assessment and learn from their findings, as we continue our comprehensive efforts to improve our safety and quality programs.”
The FAA said, “We will immediately begin a thorough review of the report and determine next steps regarding the recommendations as appropriate. We will continue to hold Boeing to the highest standard of safety and will work to ensure the company comprehensively addresses these recommendations.”
