FAA opens investigation into Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Federal Aviation Administration has opened another investigation into Boeing, adding to a series of safety investigations into the plane maker since a door plug blew off a 737-9 MAX in early January.

“The company voluntarily informed us in April that it may not have completed the required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding at the point where the wings connect to the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner aircraft,” it said it in a statement from the FAA.

The agency is investigating whether the Seattle-based plane maker completed required inspections for the Dreamliner and whether employees falsified aircraft records. The FAA said Boeing will re-inspect all 787 aircraft still in production and will develop a plan to address the 787 aircraft currently in service.

“This is not an immediate aviation safety issue for the operating fleet,” Scott Stocker, vice president of manufacturing and safety at Boeing, said in an email to employees about the issue last week.

No Boeing Dreamliner aircraft were decommissioned or withdrawn from production.

In a previous investigation into the Jan. 5 incident involving a Boeing 737-9 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines, the FAA reported that Boeing failed to meet its own quality control requirements for manufacturing its 737-9 MAX aircraft in several instances, including: its manufacturing process controls, parts handling, parts storage and product control.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Department of Justice are also investigating Boeing over the Jan. 5 incident.