Claims of retaliation fly as Boeing faces NTSB about plane-panel blowout
Boeing retaliated against two employees who were likely involved in removing the panel that flew off Alaska Airlines Flight
1282, the top U.S. aviationsafety regulator said.
That was among the allegations levied against Boeing on Wednesday during an investigative hearing before the National Transportation Safety Board.
The board is attempting to determine what caused the Jan. 5 blowout, which saw a poorly installed panel explode off a nearly new
737 MAX 9.
The near disaster over Portland occurred because workers at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, assembly plant failed to install four bolts.
More than 20 hours of hearings led by NTSB Chair
Jennifer Homendy on Tuesday and Wednesday aimed to shed light on the problems at Boeing and examine the steps that the company and regulators have taken to correct them.
Homendy on Wednesday took issue with Boeing’s decision to move two Renton-based door-crew workers to Everett, Washington. She described the reassignment as a form of retaliation despite the company’s assertions that it will not take disciplinary action for unintentional mistakes. Those two workers, who are believed to have worked on the 737 that experienced the blowout, are now on administrative leave.
‘BOEING PRISON’
There is no evidence that the front-line workers’ mistakes were intentional, Homendy said.
“What sort of impression does that give your employees that you sideline them?” Homendy asked Boeing quality managers during the contentious hearing. “It’s very clear they have been told they will not return, if at all, until this investigation is over. Have you communicated why that is?”
Boeing executives testifying Wednesday said they did not have knowledge of the situation.
Workplace retaliation came up several other times during the hearings.
The company has long been accused of striking back against whistleblowers, including those who came forward after two fatal 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.
Since the Jan. 5 panel blowout, more whistleblowers have come forward, alleging safety concerns with how Boeing planes are manufactured and how the company handles employees who bring attention to apparent problems. The Federal Aviation Administration said it has seen an “increased” use of its whistleblowers hotline by Boeing employees, as well as workers from Boeing’s largest supplier, Spirit AeroSystems.
The NTSB found in interviews that Boeing employees were afraid to raise concerns out of fear the company would reassign them. One of the reassigned door-crew employees described their new posting in Everett as a “cage” and “Boeing prison.”
Boeing is improving channels for employees to report concerns, including updating its anti-retaliation policy, said Paul Wright, Boeing’s senior director for safety management systems, during Wednesday’s hearing.
It has received “well over” 2,000 reports this
year in its Speak Up system, a new anonymous channel to file concerns, he continued.
“What we want to see is employees reporting goodfaith mistakes without reprisal,” Wright said. “It all comes down to employees feeling safe to report.”
Leaders of the Machinists union, which represents more than 30,000 Boeing workers, said they were not familiar with the updated anti-retaliation policy.
Lloyd Catlin, who represented the Machinists at the NTSB hearing, told investigators Boeing’s changes to its safety and quality system all sound very good but “it’s not what it appears to be.”
Speak Up allows workers to remain anonymous. But Catlin said some workers are concerned that they will still be identified. Catlin said he has heard some positive outcomes of Speak Up reports but has also been stonewalled by Boeing through the system in the past.
Boeing is said to be working on a similar anonymous reporting system for its engineering workforce. Asked about the program Wednesday, Wright said he did not have an update.