Page 14 - Boeing

Boeing to plead guilty to avoid US criminal trial over 737 Max crashes

Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two deadly crashes of 737 Max jetliners after the government determined the company violated an agreement that had protected it from prosecution for more than three years, the Justice Department said Sunday night. Federal prosecutors gave Boeing the choice this week of entering a guilty plea and paying a fine as part of its sentence or facing a trial on the felony criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Prosecutors accused the American aerospace giant of deceiving regulators who approved the airplane and pilot-training requirements for it. The plea deal, which still must receive the approval of a federal judge to take effect, calls for Boeing to pay an additional $243.6 million fine. That was the same amount it paid under the 2021 settlement that the Justice Department said the company breached. An independent monitor would be named to oversee Boeing's safety and quality procedures for three ...

Boeing planning to acquire key supplier Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 bn

Boeing announced plans to acquire key supplier Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion, a move that it says will improve plane quality and safety amid increasing scrutiny by Congress, airlines and the Department of Justice. Boeing previously owned Spirit, and the purchase would reverse a longtime Boeing strategy of outsourcing key work on its passenger planes. That approach has been criticized as problems at Spirit disrupted production and delivery of popular Boeing jetliners, including 737s and 787s. We believe this deal is in the best interest of the flying public, our airline customers, the employees of Spirit and Boeing, our shareholders and the country more broadly, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement late Sunday. Concerns about safety came to a head after the Jan. 5 blowout of a panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 at 16,000 feet over Oregon. The Federal Aviation Administration soon after announced increased oversight of Boeing and Spirit, which supplied the

After regulatory review, Boeing restarts new plane deliveries to China

New Boeing deliveries to China have been off and on since 2019 after two fatal crashes of MAX 8 jets and amid intensifying tensions over issues ranging from technology to national security

Boeing agrees to purchase Spirit Aero for $4.7 billion in stock deal

Boeing plans to take control of the Spirit's manufacturing that supports its commercial jet line-up, including building frames for its cash-cow 737 Max

Troubles mount for Boeing amid whistleblower claims of lapses on 787 jets

The FAA has received more than 11 times as many Boeing whistleblower reports in the first five months of this year compared to all of 2023

US prosecutors recommend DOJ criminally charge Boeing as deadline looms

The Justice Department must decide by July 7 whether to prosecute Boeing. The recommendation of prosecutors handling the case has not been previously reported

Boeing expected to evade criminal charges for violating settlement: Report

The agreement included money to compensate victims' relatives and required Boeing to overhaul its compliance practices

Malaysia-bound flight returns back to Hyderabad due to technical snag

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft departed at 12:45 am from Hyderabad and was scheduled to land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7:10 am but it returned back around 4 am due to technical reasons

Sunita Williams stuck in space: After launch, Starliner's return delayed

Everything you need to know about Sunita Williams' space mission, Boeing Starliner setbacks and delays

737 Max crash victims' families demand $25 billion fine on Boeing

The letter comes a day after Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun faced a public grilling from US senators, who called on the company to fix its "broken safety culture"

Air India to start premium economy class on a few domestic routes from July

Air India on Wednesday said it will launch premium economy class on select domestic routes from next month. As of now, Vistara is the only Indian carrier which offers premium economy-class travel category on its domestic routes. The Tata Group-owned airline said it has refitted two new A320neo aircraft in a three-class configuration, featuring eight seats in business, 24 seats with extra legroom in premium economy, and 132 in the economy category, offering a wider choice to its guests. This is the first time the airline has introduced premium economy cabins on its narrow-body aircraft. "The introduction of a three-class cabin to Air India's narrow-body fleet and commencement of interior refits are important steps in the journey of enhancing the flying experience," said Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Air India. The latest upgrade of the narrow-body fleet, which operates on domestic and short-haul international networks, complements the upgraded ..

FAA, EASA vow to boost collaboration on new airplane certification

Since two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed a combined 346 people, aviation regulators around the world have tightened oversight of new airplanes

FAA was too 'hands-off' in its oversight of Boeing, says agency head

The top US aviation regulator said on Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration should have been more aware of manufacturing problems inside Boeing before a panel blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. FAA's approach was too hands-off too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told a Senate committee. Whitaker said that since the January 5 blowout on the Alaska jetliner, the FAA has changed to more active, comprehensive oversight of Boeing. That includes, as he has said before, putting more inspectors in factories at Boeing and its chief supplier on the Max, Spirit AeroSystems. Whitaker made the comments while his agency, the Justice Department and the National Transportation Safety Board continue investigations into the giant aircraft manufacturer. The FAA has limited Boeing's production of 737 Max jets to 38 per month, but the company is building far fewer than that while it tries to fix

Boeing to face FAA scrutiny for foreseeable future after mid-air blowout

The FAA will also keep closer tabs on other aerospace manufacturers with more active, in-person oversight to supplement the agency's audits, Whitaker said

Boeing sales tumble as firm gets no orders for 737 Max for second month

Boeing received orders for only four new planes in May and for the second straight month, none for its best-selling 737 Max, as fallout continues from the blowout of a side panel on a Max during a flight in January. The results released Tuesday compared unfavourably with Europe's Airbus, which reported orders for 27 new planes in May. Boeing also saw Aerolineas Argentinas cancel an order for a single Max jet, bringing its net sales for the month to three. The dismal results followed poor figures for April, when Boeing reported seven sales none of them for the Max. Boeing hopes that the slow pace of orders reflects a lull in sales before next month's Farnborough International Airshow, where aircraft deals are often announced. But the Federal Aviation Administration is capping Boeing's production of 737s after a door plug blew out from an Alaska Airlines Max, allegations by whistleblowers that Boeing has taken shortcuts to produce planes more quickly, and reports of falsified ...

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore dock Starliner at ISS after resolving issues

NASA's Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore have successfully docked Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) after overcoming new issues that cropped up en route to the orbiting laboratory. Williams, 58, flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with Wilmore, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS. Williams is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission. Boeing Starliner spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station at 1:34 pm on Thursday, about 26 hours after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, NASA said in a statement. Williams shared her gratitude to the family and friends who have been with them during the lead-up to the launch. We have another family up here, which is just awesome, Williams said. And we're just happy as can be to be up in space, one in Starliner on an Atlas V, and the

Sunita Williams breaks into gig onbard ISS after arrival on Boeing capsule

The journey wasn't without challenges, as new issues arose en route, but NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams safely arrived aboard the station after overcoming obstacles

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore test unique Starliner piloting capability

On the way to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore tested out a unique capability of the spacecraft on orbit manual piloting. Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with Wilmore, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on a 25-hour flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Williams, 58, is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission. Although the spacecraft is usually autonomous, the crew used the hand controller to point and aim the spacecraft during about two hours of free-flight demonstrations. During a far-field demo, they pointed Starliner's nose toward the Earth so that its communications antenna on the back of the Service Module was pointed at the Tracking and Data Relay satellites. They then moved the Starliner so that its solar array pointed at the sun to show they cou

Boeing attempts to launch Nasa astronauts to ISS again after latest repairs

Boeing geared up again Wednesday for its first astronaut launch, held up for years by safety concerns. It was the third launch attempt for NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in Boeing's Starliner capsule. Rocket-related trouble thwarted the first two countdowns. The astronauts will test Starliner's systems on the way to the International Space Station, where they'll spend at least a week before aiming for a touchdown in the western US. NASA hired Boeing along with SpaceX after the space shuttles retired to transport astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX has been ferrying astronauts since 2020. Boeing's capsule rocketed into orbit in 2019 without a crew, but that test flight was cut short by software problems. Boeing had better luck on the do-over mission in 2022, but parachute and other issues later were discovered, delaying Starliner's crew debut even further. Minutes before Saturday's planned liftoff, a computer's power unit failed at the pad that had to

Boeing, Nasa target June 5 for Starliner's debut crew flight to ISS

Once launched, the Starliner is expected to arrive at the space station after a flight of about 24 hours and dock with the orbiting research outpost some 250 miles (402 km) above Earth