US: Falsified papers, sloppy work led FAA to fine Boeing

Though Boeing paid $12m in late 2015 to settle more than a dozen FAA investigations, details of the problems found by the safety agency were not disclosed at the time. Documents obtained this month by The Seattle Times through a Freedom of Information Act request show the cases revealed a disquieting pattern of falsified paperwork and ignored procedures that created quality issues on the production lines of Boeing and its suppliers. The FAA found that Boeing repeatedly failed to follow protocols designed to guard against production errors that put safety at risk. Some tasks were signed off as completed and checked when they were not. Other work was done without authorization. The result was multiple errors in manufacturing, some of which passed right through the system to airplanes in service. Boeing also failed to take corrective action in a timely way after issues were discovered, the FAA found.<br/>