A small group of Boeing engineers who perform key safety tasks are raising concerns about their ability to work free of pressure from supervisors, and their comments are prompting federal regulators to take a broader look into the company’s safety culture.
The employees are deputized to approve safety assessments and handle other jobs for the Federal Aviation Administration, making their independence from company pressure critical.
According to an FAA letter, one of the employees said, “I had to have a sit down with a manager and explain why I can’t approve something.” The worker indicated that the company shopped around for another employee in the engineering unit.
Another employee reported consternation by managers when engineers find fault in designs of components because that can cause delays in delivering airplanes.
The FAA’s initial investigation ran from May until July. An FAA official described it in an August 19 letter to Boeing’s leader of safety and aircraft certification. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
“We take these matters with the utmost seriousness, and are continuously working to improve the processes we have in place to ensure the independence” of employees who work on behalf of the FAA, said Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal. She said those employees “must be accorded the same respect and deference that is shown” to FAA personnel.