FAA boss blasts Boeing for focusing on 'production' instead of 'safety and quality' after visiting warehouses where planes are manufactured following 'string of incidents'

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has blasted Boeing for focusing on 'production' instead of 'safety and quality'.

Administrator Michael Whitaker was left unimpressed with the aerospace giant following a visit to its facilities. 

'My impressions were similar to the culture survey that just got completed at Boeing and our audit, which is that there are issues around the safety culture at Boeing,' he told Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News.

'Their priorities have been on production, and not on safety and quality. So what we really are focused on now, is shifting that focus, from production to safety and quality.' 

It comes after a series of terrifying incidents unfolded onboard Boeing jets in recent months - from a wheel falling from an Osaka-bound aircraft early March to a panel blowing off a plane shortly after it took off from San Francisco last week.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has blasted Boeing for focusing on 'production' instead of 'safety and quality'. Pictured: A missing panel on a 25-year-old Boeing 737-824

Administrator Michael Whitaker was left unimpressed with the aerospace giant following a visit to its facilities

His comment come after a series of terrifying incidents unfolded onboard Boeing jets in recent months. Pictured: An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-MAX 9 lost a door mid-flight in January, with several incident involving Boeing-made planes occurring since

FAA administrator Whitaker made a visit to the Boeing facilities and claimed it has prioritized production over safety. 

He was asked if there were certain protocols which were not met in the way the aircraft manufacturer approached airplane production and he said: 'Not what you would have expected if safety is the first priority.

'Whenever someone comes into the FAA to brief on their company, the first thing I expect is to talk about safety because we all have to start there. 

'If it's not safe, then the whole system is not working the way it should.'

It comes after Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told the Europe 2024 conference in Berlin that Boeing's highly publicized safety failings are damaging the image of the aerospace economy. 

'I am not happy with the problems of my competitor. They are not good for the industry a whole,' Faury said when asked about Boeing.

'We are in an industry where quality and safety is top priority,' he added. 

Boeing's share price has plunged by 11.6 percent over the last month while Airbus rose by 13.1 percent.

Yesterday, the CEO of United Airlines Scott Kirby moved to reassure customers that flying with the company is safe in an email circulated to subscribers.

'Safety is our highest priority and is at the center of everything we do,' Kirby said in an email to customers on Monday.

'Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety.'

The FAA is investigating the worrying incidents, which Kirby described as 'all unrelated' in the email.

Boeing's share prices have plummeted within the past year following a number of incidents 

A Boeing plane was recently forced to land due to hydraulic fluid spewing from its landing gear area. Now being investigated, the technical failure also occurred in midair on a United flight

He added United Airlines is reviewing details of each incident 'and using those insights to inform our safety training and procedures across all employee groups.'

The aviation industry came under the microscope over the string of recent mishaps, beginning with a door blowing off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 on January 5.

Just last week, a United Airlines Boeing 737-824 from San Francisco was grounded after it was found to be missing a panel when it touched down at Medford Airport in Oregon.

Jackson County Airport Director Amber Judd said the panel fell off the 25-year-old plane mid-flight, and that no injuries were reported by passengers or crew.

While three days before, a Boeing jet was forced to land due to hydraulic fluid spewing from its landing gear area. It was also a United Airlines Flight.

Also under investigation, the forced landing happened as the San Francisco-bound 777-300 embarked from Sydney, with fluid filmed leaking from its undercarriage.

Boeing is now instructing airlines to inspect switches on pilots' seats in its flagship 787 Dreamliner jets - after a published report said an accidental cockpit seat movement likely caused the sudden plunge of a LATAM Airlines plane earlier this week.

It said it recommended airlines inspect the motorized cockpit seats the next time they perform maintenance.

There have been a series of mishaps on Boeing jets in recent months. Pictured: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun

The aircraft manufacturer went on to point to instructions that include how to disable motors that move the seats in its 787s, before billing the advisory as no more than a 'precautionary measure.'

It also comes less than a week after a former Boeing staffer was found dead by an apparent suicide, while doing depositions for a suit he filed against the firm alleging he witnessed second-rate parts being fitted on planes.

The FAA has since revealed the firm failed 33 of 89 audits during an exam of Boeing's 737 Max - a model it had been planning to update with the long delayed Max 10.

After the incident - and the several before - United Airlines requested the firm halt work on the unreleased jets: an apparent sign of carriers' diminishing faith.

The Boeing whistleblower found dead, 62-year-old John Barnett, had given stark warnings over the aviation giant's 787 Dreamliner and 737 Max models specifically in an interview, just weeks before his death.

In the midst of a deposition in a whistleblower lawsuit in Charleston related to production of the 787 Dreamliner plane, Barnett was found with a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound in the parking lot of a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina.

The FAA is investigating nine incidents this month alone involving United planes.

Whitaker's interview with host Holt airs tonight on NBC Nightly News at 6.30pm ET.