Boeing tells federal regulators how it plans to fix aircraft safety and quality problems

Boeing officials explained their plan to improve manufacturing quality and safety during a three-hour meeting Thursday with federal officials, who will continue restrictions they placed on the company after one of its jetliners suffered a blowout of a fuselage panel in January.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker said the plan is comprehensive and includes encouraging Boeing employees to speak up about safety concerns.

“This is a guide for a new way for Boeing to do business.” Whitaker told reporters after the meeting. ”Boeing has laid out their road map, and now they need to execute.”

Neither FAA nor Boeing released the company’s plan. Boeing CEO David Calhoun, who in the aftermath of the blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight said he would step down at the end of the year, said the document was crafted from comments by employees, the FAA, airlines and independent experts.

“Many of these actions are underway, and our team is committed to executing on each element of the plan,” Calhoun, who will leave at the end of the year, said in a statement.

Stephanie Pope, a possible successor to Calhoun who was recently promoted to chief operating officer and chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, said the plan was designed to improve employee training, simplify manufacturing, “eliminate defects at the source, and elevate our safety and quality culture.”

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