Federal air-safety regulators have opened a new investigation into Boeing after the jet maker recently disclosed that its employees may have skipped some inspections on 787 Dreamliners and falsified records, the latest quality issue at the manufacturer.  The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane maker notified the agency in April that it may not have completed required inspections on certain Dreamliners. 

The inspections were related to so-called bonding and grounding aimed at reducing electrical hazards near the aircraft’s fuel tanks, people familiar with the matter said. Commercial jetliners have various safeguards to protect fuel tanks from lightning strikes or other issues. The FAA said it was investigating “whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.” The agency has been scrutinizing Boeing’s production since the Jan. 5 midair blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX jet flown by Alaska Airlines. 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether any 787 Dreamliners currently flying passengers around the world would need to be pulled out of service for inspections. The agency said Boeing was reinspecting all 787s in production and must formulate a plan to address the in-service Dreamliner fleet.

About 450 Dreamliners could be affected, according to people familiar with the investigation. Boeing said in a securities filing it had delivered 1,110 of the aircraft as of last year.

Boeing shares closed 0.8% lower Monday, falling after The Wall Street Journal reported on the new FAA investigation. Broader U.S. stock indexes settled around 1% higher.

Boeing’s 787 program chief, Scott Stocker, in an April 29 internal message, said the company found no immediate problem for Dreamliners currently flying.

“Fortunately, our engineering team has assessed that this misconduct did not create an immediate safety of flight issue,” Stocker said in the message, which a Boeing spokeswoman provided to the Journal. 

Excerpt from WSJ
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