FAA opens new Boeing safety investigation into 'missed' 787 Max inspections amid claims employees falsified records

The FAA today announced a new safety investigation into beleaguered jet maker Boeing. 

The Wall Street Journal reports the target of the investigation is whether Boeing fulfilled safety inspection requirements on all of its troublesome 787 Max jets.

Regulators are saying that Boeing disclosed to them that their employees may have skipped some inspections on 787 Dreamliner planes. 

The FAA added that it was investigating 'whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.'

Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour testified on Capitol Hill in April about the safety issues present in the company's planes, specifically the 787 models. 

The Alaska Airlines plane that had its door blow out mid-flight at 16,000 feet in January was a 737 Max 9, and that's reportedly when the FAA began probing Boeing and its construction processes.

Salehpour claimed prior to his testimony that he 'literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align.'

Boeing has categorically denied Salehpour's claims regarding people jumping on airplanes.

Steve Chisholm, Boeing's chief engineer, defended the planes in April, saying investigators have not found fatigue cracks on in-service 787 jets that have gone through heavy maintenance. 

Still, the 787 jet has a history of serious problems, even if Boeing is confident in their structural integrity at this current moment.

Boeing halted deliveries of the 787 widebody jet for more than a year until August 2022 as the FAA investigated quality problems and manufacturing flaws.

In 2021, Boeing said the planes had shims that were not the proper size and some aircraft had areas that did not meet skin-flatness specifications. A shim is a thin piece of material used to fill tiny gaps in a manufactured product.

The 737 Max, a narrow-body jet, has also had its fair share of close calls in the air.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after part of the engine blew off in early April.

In March, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 landed in Portland with its cargo door slightly open. Passengers' luggage and pets were down below but Boeing said no harm came to the animals. 

Also in March, a United 737 plane veered off the runway after landing in Houston. The 160 passengers and six crew were not injured.

The new investigation sent shares in the jet maker into a freefall on Monday. 

The company is already grappling with the second death of a whistleblower who raised the alarm about its safety practices. 

Joshua Dean was that second whistleblower, and he raised alarms about supposed defects in 737 Max jets. 

Dean's family said the 45-year-old died in the hospital after a sudden illness.