The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday said that Boeing’s [BA] Commercial Airplanes segment agreed to pay $12 million to settle multiple pending and potential enforcement cases related to compliance.
“This agreement is an important step toward ensuring that Boeing fully meets all applicable compliance standards going forward,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.
Settlement terms include the potential for up to $24 million more in penalties over the next five years if Boeing Commercial Airplanes fails to carry out the obligations it agreed to, the FAA said.
The agreement settles two cases and 11 other matters that were opened over the last few years, including the company’s delays in developing information for the installation of fuel tank flammability reduction equipment on its 747 and 757 aircraft, and “insufficient corrective action” related to the discovery of incorrectly shaped fasteners provided by a supplier. The FAA said it did not allege that these cases “created unsafe conditions.”
The FAA said, under the settlement, Boeing Commercial Airplanes agreed to meet certain performance targets designed to enhance its early discovery and self-disclosure of potential regulatory problems, and develop and implement effective corrective actions.
Boeing said in a statement that the settlement reflects its “deep and shared commitment to safety, quality and compliance, a commitment that has helped make travel on large commercial airplanes the safest means of transportation in history. Boeing believes that this agreement not only fairly resolves announced and potential civil penalty actions—most of which date back years, and two of which were previously announced in 2012 and 2013—but also will further enhance Boeing’s self-correcting quality and compliance systems.”
Boeing also said that many of the improvement listed in the agreement with the FAA have already been implemented or are being implemented.
Under the agreement, the FAA said that Boeing must meet a number of obligations in the areas of improved management oversight and accountability, internal auditing, enhanced supplier management, quality and timeliness of regulatory submissions, simplification of specifications, first article verification, stampings and other verification records accuracy, reporting obligations, and corrective action development, implementation and sustainment.