Boeing Must Improve Safety and Quality Control Before Increasing 737 MAX Production: Buttigieg

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on April 24 that Boeing must meet a government mandate to address systemic quality-control issues. The plane manufacturer has to comply with the mandate within 90 days in order to increase production on its 737 MAX airplanes. Several Boeing 737 MAXs have experienced safety issues in recent months. Mr. Buttigieg noted that Boeing is about halfway through the stipulated 90-day deadline. “We’re not to going let them (increase production) until they have satisfied to the FAA that they can do it safely,” Mr. Buttigieg said at an event at Reagan National Airport outside Washington. In January, following a mid-flight door plug blowout of one of Boeing’s 737 MAXs, the FAA told the company to halt production on the airplanes, citing safety concerns. A criminal probe into the incident has since been initiated by the Justice Department....