The US Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy will drop in at Boeing’s Renton facility this week for what he describes as a “firsthand look” at the beleaguered planemaker.
Secretary Duffy will travel to Seattle, Washington, on March 13, 2025, where he will spend time with trainees at Boeing’s educational campus before a scheduled factory visit.
“I will be traveling to Seattle to visit Boeing’s training campus and factory to get a firsthand look at their planes to ensure their planes are maintaining the highest level of safety standards,” said Secretary Duffy.
The Trump administration has been resolute in its ambitions to ensure that Boeing is raising its safety standards after a torrid 2024, with began with an incident on January 5, 2024, when a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 mid-flight.
According to Reuters, Secretary Duffy will travel with the acting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) leader, Chris Rocheleau, to Washington, where they are expected to meet the Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.
Secretary Duffy announced the visit after he marked the six years since an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed on March 10, 2019.
“We lost 157 people, including eight Americans. We remember their lives today and remain committed to ensuring such tragedies never happen again,” wrote Secretary Duffy on social media.
He added: “US DOT never forgets victims. I met with several families of the passengers of flight 302 on February 25th. My door and this department are always open to them for answers and to help them navigate their grief.”
In March 2024, the FAA said that during its Boeing audit it had found “multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements”.
It also identified “non-compliance issues” across Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.
The FAA has adopted a tough approach towards Boeing by increasing oversight and limiting production of 737 MAX jets to 38 a month.
After Secretary Duffy was sworn in, he pledged to maintain the cap on Boeing 737 MAX production and “usher in a golden age of transportation”.
Ortberg is due to appear in front of the Senate Commerce Committee on April 3, 2025, where he will be questioned about Boeing’s recent efforts to improve safety.
