So, I guess Agent 747 will be busy for the forseeable future.
The FAA has decided to open a new Boeing probe after Boeing admits that it may have skipped some inspections, with investigations focusing on whether employees had falsified records. [
Archive] [
Article Archive of related news] Apparently, Boeing had notified the FAA itself after learning that employees failed to perform electrical safeguard examinations (checking bonding and proper grounding) in wing-fuselage joints.
I find it hard to believe that there's no top-down influence on skipping critical steps. It's probably management telling engineers to increase production times by skipping checks here and there, until nothing has been inspected for months. At best, Boeing telling on itself is a weird PR move. Maybe they're trying to show the public how concerned about safety they are, that they're willing to blow the whistle on themselves. ...Or something.