The Federal Aviation Administration’s chief met with Kelly Ortberg, the recently appointed CEO of Boeing, this week as the airline deals with a number of regulatory challenges and heightened scrutiny, an official from the agency confirmed.
In an email to employees on Friday, Ortberg shared that he had met with the FAA to discuss Boeing’s safety and quality plans. The meeting follows a January incident where FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker prohibited Boeing from increasing production of its 737 MAX after a door panel blew out during a test flight on a new Alaska Airlines aircraft.
Ortberg, who assumed the CEO role on August 8, emphasized in his message to employees that he assured the FAA of Boeing’s commitment to fostering a true culture change, encouraging employees to speak up about potential issues, and ensuring that the right resources are mobilized to address them.
This week, Ortberg also chaired his first board meeting as CEO and met with Pentagon officials and other key stakeholders. Meanwhile, Boeing continues to navigate ongoing labor negotiations.
Whitaker mentioned in May that he plans to visit Seattle in September to review the company’s quality initiatives. He also stated that the FAA would maintain its increased on-site presence at Boeing and its fuselage supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, for the foreseeable future.
In June, during a Senate Commerce hearing, Whitaker criticized the FAA for being “too hands-off” in its oversight of Boeing before January. He remarked that the FAA should have had much better visibility into Boeing’s operations prior to January 5.
This month, Boeing announced it has suspended test flights of its 777X, which is still awaiting certification. During a maintenance check, cracks were found in a component between the engine and the airplane’s structure, and similar issues were discovered on other test aircraft.
After getting type inspection authority in July, Boeing started certification flight testing of its long-delayed 777-9 aircraft with FAA regulators on board. This was a crucial step in the multi-step procedure required to obtain certification of a new aircraft.
Last month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge and pay at least $243.6 million for violating a 2021 agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.