The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation into Boeing, probing whether the American aerospace manufacturer misled investors following a series of safety incidents and concerns, Bloomberg reported. The latest blow to the company comes amidst a tumultuous year marked by aircraft malfunctions, whistleblower deaths, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigations.
The SEC's investigation specifically pertains to comments made to investors about safety practices after a January incident in which a panel flew off an Alaska Airlines-run 737 Max 9 plane midair due to a poorly installed door plug. The SEC, a federal agency created to protect investors and maintain fair markets, declined to comment on the existence of the investigation when approached by Newsweek.
Boeing's troubles have been mounting throughout the year, with numerous incidents reported involving its aircraft. In January, several Max 9 planes were found to have sub-par door plugs, while other issues such as cracked windows, engine failures, and a nose wheel falling off a Colombia-bound plane were also reported. March saw multiple incidents, including a fuel leak and midflight technical issues.
The company has also been rocked by the deaths of two whistleblowers who had raised safety concerns. John Barnett, 62, was found dead in South Carolina on March 9 with a "self-inflicted" gunshot wound, according to the Charleston County Coroners office. Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, passed away earlier in May after a sudden illness, with no evidence to suggest his death was suspicious.
A Newsweek poll conducted in April revealed that three in four millennials' confidence in flying had been shaken by the allegations surrounding Boeing's safety practices. The FAA launched an investigation into the company in April after a whistleblower alleged that Boeing was failing to address safety concerns. A further FAA investigation was announced on Monday into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, following allegations of employee misconduct and falsified aircraft records.
In a related incident, a Boeing 737 carrying 85 people caught fire and skidded off the runway at Senegal's main airport on Thursday, injuring 10 people, including the pilot. The Air Sénégal flight operated by TransAir was headed to Bamako, Mali, when the crash occurred at Blaise Diagne International Airport. Passengers described "complete panic" as they evacuated the burning aircraft, with some fearing for their lives.
The cause of the fire and runway skid is not yet clear, but passengers reported that the plane had attempted to take off earlier that night but failed. This incident marks the third involving a Boeing airplane this week, following the safe evacuation of 190 people from a plane in Turkey after a tire burst during landing.
Boeing has been under intense pressure since the Alaska Airlines incident in January, with the FAA giving the company 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building planes. The scrutiny has reached its highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, with relatives of the victims pushing for the revival of a criminal fraud charge against the company.
