Boeing Pays $3.1 Million FAA Fine Over Door Plug Blowout

Boeing paid the Federal Aviation Administration about $3.1 million in civil penalties for safety violations, including issues tied to the door plug blowout on a 737-9 Max flown by Alaska Airlines in January 2024. The payment had not been previously disclosed.

The fines, proposed in September 2025, totaled $3,139,319 and covered violations from September 2023 through February 2024. They included the door plug incident, which caused no deaths or serious injuries, as well as interference with safety officials' independence.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report in July 2025. It found the probable cause was Boeing's failure to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight so manufacturing personnel could correctly comply with its parts removal process. The NTSB cited alleged lack of adequate employee training and oversight by both Boeing and the FAA, plus a lack of child restraint systems for children under 2.

The NTSB recommended Boeing equip a redesigned door plug on newly manufactured aircraft. It also recommended the FAA issue an airworthiness directive requiring all in-service aircraft with the Mid-Exit Door plug that blew out to be retrofitted with the new design.

The FAA said it found hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and at the Wichita, Kansas, factory operated by subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems. Boeing reacquired Spirit AeroSystems in late 2025. The FAA alleged Boeing presented a pair of unairworthy aircraft for airworthiness certificates.