Boeing fined $6.6m for failing to comply on safety accord

Boeing has agreed to pay $6.6m in penalties to US regulators after failing to comply with a 2015 agreement to improve its safety processes. The FAA on Thursday announced the penalties in a press release. The company agreed to pay $5.4m to settle earlier cases brought against the company and another $1.21m for two more recent cases, the agency said. “Boeing failed to meet all of its obligations under the settlement agreement, and the FAA is holding Boeing accountable by imposing additional penalties,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said. “I have reiterated to Boeing’s leadership time and again that the company must prioritize safety and regulatory compliance, and that the FAA will always put safety first in all its decisions.” The agreement comes only months after Boeing’s best-selling plane, the 737 Max, was ungrounded after a 20-month span that prompted lawmakers and others to denounce the company’s safety culture and led to billions of dollars in lost sales and other costs. During that time, the FAA withheld what had been routine authority for the company to perform such things as approvals of planes coming off the assembly line. Story has more details.<br/>