FAA opens investigation into whether Boeing employees missed inspections and falsified records

The Federal Aviation Administration opened another investigation into Boeing on Monday, this time focused on whether Boeing employees failed to conduct quality inspections and falsified records.

Boeing has been in the center of controversy recently, as it faces mounting criticism over mechanical malfunctions and questions over quality. A whistleblower testified in front of the Senate last month on the safety and quality of the aircrafts and claimed he had major safety concerns over Boeing’s policies.

The FAA said Boeing came to them voluntarily, and the investigation will look at whether inspections were done, and whether "company employees may have falsified aircraft records."

"[Boeing] voluntarily informed us in April that it may not have completed required inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes," the administration told CNN.

While the investigation is conducted, employees will inspect Dreamliners that have not been delivered to airline customers, and will create a plan to examine the planes that are already flying.

Scott Stocker, who leads the 787 program, claimed the company received reports that several employees were violating company policy by not conducting the tests, and yet those employees marked that they had been completed.

"Fortunately, our engineering team has assessed that this misconduct did not create an immediate safety of flight issue," Stocker said in a memo shared with Axios.

Boeing's memo added, “We promptly informed our regulator about what we learned and are taking swift and serious corrective action with multiple teammates," CNN reported.

The employee who spoke up about the policy concern, who was not named in the memo, will be "celebrate[d]," the company said.

Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun announced that he would step down as CEO over the controversies in March. One such incident in January revolved around a door blowing off a Boeing 737 Max 9 in mid-flight. Calhoun later admitted that it was Boeing's fault, and resulted from bolts allegedly missing on the door.