FAA Opens New Investigation Into Boeing 787 Inspections

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday that it had opened an investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after the plane manufacturer stated that some employees had committed “misconduct” by claiming some tests had been completed.

The FAA announced that it is investigating whether Boeing actually completed inspections concerning the bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The probe also seeks to determine “whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.”

While the investigation plays out, Boeing will conduct inspections of Dreamliners that have not yet been delivered to airline buyers. The manufacturer is also seeking to develop a plan for planes that are already in service, the FAA said.

The agency stated that Boeing “voluntarily informed us in April that it may not have completed required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes.”

According to an internal memo obtained by CNN, the issue was reported by an employee and has been classified as “misconduct.” He added that it is not “an immediate safety of flight issue.”

The memo, which was penned by Boeing executive Scott Stocker, explained that “several people had been violating Company policies by not performing a required test, but recording the work as having been completed.”

“We promptly informed our regulator about what we learned and are taking swift and serious corrective action with multiple teammates,” the memo said.

Stocker further added that Boeing intends to “celebrate” the employee who drew attention to the issue.

In April, a number of Boeing engineers came forward with concerns over aircraft quality. Sam Salehpour, who has worked as an engineer with the company since 2007, warned that more than 1,000 Boeing aircraft currently in service were in danger of structural failure due to premature fatigue.

For the 787 line, Salehpour stated that tiny gaps between plane parts had not been properly filled. “I found gaps exceeding the specification that were not properly addressed 98.7 percent of the time,” Salehpour testified during the April hearing.