Claire Rowe

Associate Editor

Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2026

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company, and the leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners. Its reputation as a highly profitable and respected corporation has dwindled over the last couple of years, and 2024 appears to be its worst year yet. Safety incidents involving particular Boeing models have triggered immediate safety concerns and have unearthed significant cultural and ethical challenges within the company. Actions of regulatory bodies tasked with ensuring company safety compliance and accident prevention have revealed a larger-scale issue with aviation industry safety, and the lack of meaningful reform by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified two versions of the Boeing 737 Max 8, and less than a year later, approved the larger 737 Max 9. Nearly a year after receiving its FAA certification, the Boeing 737 Max 8 had two major crashes, resulting in the death of 350 people in less than five months.  In 2021, Boeing faced fraud charges from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for providing documents related to the Boeing 737 Max that misled the FAA. However, the company escaped criminal charges for its fraudulent activity after agreeing to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for  $2.5 billion. For the next several years, Boeing remained the leading aerospace manufacturer and avoided significant challenges or scrutiny, until this year.

Troubling 2024 timeline

Beginning early 2024, Boeing has found itself at the center of controversy following multiple incidents involving Boeing aircrafts, raising significant safety and ethical concerns.  In January, an Alaska Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing after the door of a Boeing 737 aircraft blew off a 177-passenger flight at 16,000 feet altitude, injuring eight people. Following this incident, the FAA launched an investigation and found that no bolts had been installed on the door plug. The FAA grounded all of Boeing’s 737 Max 9s for mandatory inspections, but gave clearance to resume flights only a few weeks after. Over the next several months, manufacturing issues continued, all involving the 737 Max model. These issues resulted in several incidents including an emergency landing due to a cracked window, an exterior panel that fell off mid-flight, and several engine fires causing an abandoned take-off, and many emergency landings.

Executive and Legislative involvement

The FAA has taken responsibility for recent issues with Boeing and proposed new regulations to enforce uniform safety standards across public charter flights. Since January of this year, the FAA has provided monthly updates on its efforts to hold Boeing accountable. It halted production expansion of the problematic model and required Boeing to implement a comprehensive safety correction plan. Additionally, the FAA increased its safety inspection personnel at two Boeing facilities and conducted an audit in March 2024, concluding that Boeing’s production line exceeded FAA standards. The agency also reviewed its action plan, and the FAA Administrator, Mike Whitaker, made two factory visits to reinforce oversight and ensure compliance. However, Whitaker acknowledged the agency’s past ‘too hands-off’ approach to Boeing oversight and emphasized efforts to rectify this with stringent regulatory measures, their oversight actions remain ongoing.

The severity of Boeing’s safety lapses and internal misconduct led the legislative branch to intervene, with a Senate subcommittee investigating Boeing’s concealment of faulty parts and its retaliatory actions against whistleblowers. At a hearing, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun denied claims of retaliatory terminations but admitted to cultural issues within the company. He took responsibility for the system that caused crashes resulting in 364 deaths and pledged to encourage employees to report production issues. While he emphasized Boeing’s appreciation for internal feedback, he acknowledged that more work is needed to build trust in the company’s leadership.

Superficial corrective measures

Boeing has been cutting corners for far too long, leading to these incidents, but they aren’t solely to blame. The FAA’s expedited approval of new aircraft models, coupled with its apparent disregard for clear safety violations, has only exacerbated the issue. The FAA is the primary agency responsible for aviation safety, yet its corrective actions appear superficial. The plan, which includes safety handbook reports, two random factory visits by the top official, and increased inspector presence at just two of Boeing’s many facilities, gives the impression that Boeing received little more than a slap on the wrist.

These efforts seem more performative than substantial, raising doubts about the FAA’s commitment to enforcing real accountability. Rather than permanently grounding the unsafe Boeing 737 models, the FAA and Boeing appear more focused on preserving the commercial aviation industry’s business interests over passenger safety. The ongoing threat these aircraft pose to civil aviation and the FAA’s lack of decisive action, has unsurprisingly prompted U.S. lawmakers to step in and scrutinize the situation.

While recent events have brought these concerns into the public eye and garnered attention from more influential government bodies, meaningful action has yet to be taken. These issues highlight a broader problem within the expanding travel industry, as well as the Department of Justice’s inadequate response, which seems to involve merely throwing money at the problem instead of addressing it head-on. Without the passage of laws addressing this behavior or meaningful court rulings, significant action is unlikely to take place unless airline sales decline, driven by travelers’ growing reluctance to fly on these aircraft, which could affect the entire aviation industry.