Boeing faces FAA audit

The  Federal Aviation Administration announced immediate “new and significant actions” to its increased oversight of Boeing’s aircraft manufacturing and production processes on Friday—one week after an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane made international headlines when, ordeal

one of its emergency door plugs blew off mid-flight, and forcing an abrupt return to its departing airport. National Transportation Safety Board officials recovered the door plug from the backyard of a Portland, OR, schoolteacher on Sunday.

[Related: what to know Boeing faces FAA audit collision.]

The FAA’s oversight announcement arrives one day after the agency issued a letter to Boeing informing the company of an investigation into its planes’ design and production safety. This is not the first time Boeing’s line of 737 planes has faced scrutiny after emergencies. Fatal international crashes in 2018 and 2019 resulted in Boeing grounding all its 737 Max aircraft for nearly two years, with the company ultimately paying $2.5 billion in a settlement with the Department of Justice to avoid criminal charges.

In the week since the emergency, Alaskan Airlines issued full refunds to all Flight 1282 passengers alongside $1,500 “to assist with any inconveniences.” Meanwhile, at least six passengers have already filed a lawsuit against Boeing, in which they allege some of the plane’