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Boeing faces accusations of retaliation after door stopper explodes on Alaska Airlines flight.
Summary
- The NTSB is investigating whether Boeing retaliated against employees following an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight.
- Reassigned employees described their new location as a “punishment.”
- Boeing denies retaliation and maintains it follows strict anti-retaliation policies.
- Boeing’s safety culture has been questioned on several previous occasions, most notably following the 737 MAX crashes.
NTSB Investigates Boeing Practices
Recently, a statement issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has put to Boeing under public scrutiny. According to the report, two Boeing employees involved in installing door stoppers on an Alaska Airlines plane were reassigned to another plant after one of those doors exploded during flight. The NTSB is investigating whether this reassignment constitutes retaliation by Boeing, something the company strongly denies, saying it has a strict anti-retaliation policy.
The Alaska Airlines Incident and the Aftermath
The incident occurred in January, when an Alaska Airlines plane experienced a failure of one of its emergency door plugs, leading to a depressurization and mid-flight emergency. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but the situation revealed deeper problems in the quality and safety processes within Boeing. In the wake of the incident, two employees who worked on installing the door plugs were transferred from the Renton plant to the Everett plant, raising suspicions of retaliation, according to statements by the president of the company. NTSB, Jennifer Homendy.
Reactions and Testimonials
During the hearings, Boeing employees described the reassignment to the Everett plant as a form of “jail,” a place where those who make mistakes are sent, raising concerns about the company’s internal culture. Boeing has said that such decisions are not made as punishment but rather as part of its normal operating processes, and that the reassignment was part of necessary measures while the investigation was underway. However, Homendy questioned the effectiveness of Boeing’s anti-retaliation policies, highlighting a distrust among employees to report errors due to fear of retaliation.
Safety Culture Under the Microscope
The NTSB has noted that this is not an isolated case, and that Boeing has faced similar allegations of retaliation in the past, especially after the 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Despite Boeing’s efforts to improve its internal communication channels and its policy of “Speak Up”, which allows employees to report concerns anonymously, many workers still fear that their reports could have negative consequences for them.
The NTSB is continuing to investigate the incident, and Boeing is expected to implement significant changes to strengthen its safety culture and prevent similar situations in the future. As the investigation continues, more details are expected to come to light, which could have important implications for how Boeing handles safety and manages its workforce.
