Boeing somehow managed to get itself into even bigger trouble

Boeing has achieved the unthinkable this week: It managed to fall even deeper into crisis.

Adding to an already miserable start to 2024, Boeing stood accused Tuesday of routinely ignoring a whistleblower’s complaints about the allegedly critically flawed manufacturing process for its 787 Dreamliner planes. The whistleblower claimed Boeing retaliated against him and put him on the 777 unit as punishment. That’s when, he says, he found even more production problems.

Boeing strongly denies the claims and says it is confident in the safety of its aircraft. Still, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would investigate — adding to a growing list of federal probes into the beleaguered company, including a criminal investigation. And next week, a Senate subcommittee will hear testimony about the whistleblower’s case and will presumably air more of Boeing’s dirty laundry in public.

More allegations of lax safety standards are the last thing the company — and the flying public — need right now. The whistleblower complaint is doing further damage to Boeing’s already battered public image: a company with a broken safety record, led by highly paid executives who are careless about quality standards.

Yet the bad news for Boeing apparently knows no end.