Boeing Rotten Score Breakdown

On January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Boeing entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement after being charged with conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the certification of the 737 MAX aircraft. According to the DOJ, Boeing employees concealed material information about the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) from FAA officials, resulting in incomplete pilot training materials. Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion, including a criminal penalty, compensation for airline customers, and a fund for the families of the 346 victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes. As part of the agreement, Boeing also committed to strengthening its compliance and ethics program. Source: U.S. Department of Justice announcement (January 7, 2021).

In June 2006, Boeing agreed to pay $615 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations tied to government procurement misconduct involving U.S. Air Force and NASA contracts. The U.S. Department of Justice said Boeing improperly used competitors’ information in connection with launch-services contracts worth billions of dollars and also investigated Boeing’s hiring of former senior Air Force procurement official Darleen Druyun. The settlement included $565 million in civil payments and a $50 million criminal monetary penalty. Boeing accepted responsibility for employee conduct, agreed to continue cooperating with investigators, and committed to maintaining an effective ethics and compliance program focused on hiring former government officials and handling competitor information. DOJ described the settlement at the time as a record government-procurement fraud resolution involving a defense contractor. The underlying matters included Boeing employees’ handling of Lockheed Martin competitor documents in connection with the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program and the company’s relationship with Druyun, who had exercised substantial influence over Air Force contracting before joining Boeing. Related individuals were criminally convicted, while Boeing itself resolved the corporate exposure through the 2006 agreements. Sources: DOJ — Boeing to Pay United States Record $615 Million to Resolve Fraud Allegations DOJ — Statement on the Boeing global settlement and procurement investigations

Following the January 5, 2024 Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug incident, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an extensive investigation into Boeing's manufacturing and quality-control processes. The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling, storage, and product control. As a result, the FAA halted expansion of Boeing's 737 MAX production, increased on-site oversight, required Boeing to submit a comprehensive corrective action plan, and stated that the company must address its systemic production-quality issues before production could increase. The FAA continues to monitor Boeing's progress through ongoing audits, inspections, and regular reviews. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/updates-boeing-737-9-max-aircraft

In 2024, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations opened a bipartisan inquiry into Boeing after receiving whistleblower disclosures concerning manufacturing practices and the company's safety culture. Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testified that he faced retaliation after raising concerns about manufacturing and assembly of Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft. The Senate later released additional whistleblower evidence. Boeing employee Sam Mohawk alleged that nonconforming aircraft parts were improperly tracked and stored, that supervisors told him to conceal evidence from the FAA, and that he experienced retaliation after raising concerns. The investigation also examined earlier retaliation allegations from former Boeing employee John Barnett. The Senate's investigation found broader concerns about Boeing's safety-reporting culture. Separately, an expert panel examining Boeing's FAA delegation program found employees could hesitate to report safety concerns because of fear of retaliation and that many employees distrusted the anonymity of Boeing's reporting system. Boeing disputed important aspects of whistleblower allegations and maintained that it encourages employees to report safety concerns. The congressional investigation documented allegations and safety-culture concerns but did not constitute a final judicial finding that Boeing unlawfully retaliated in every cited instance. Sources: U.S. Senate — New Boeing whistleblower evidence U.S. Senate — Boeing safety-culture inquiry Senate hearing — Firsthand accounts of Boeing's safety culture