Boeing’s Crisis Year: Strikes, Lawsuits, and Safety Woes in 2024

Boeing's troubles in 2024 shake Washington State news

Boeing, an aerospace company founded in 1916 in Seattle, has been a major part of Washington State's legacy for over 100 years. Boeing has been a leader in aviation and has played an essential role in the United States' exploration into space. The company brings approximately $580 million in tax revenue per year to Washington.

In the first week of 2024, Boeing's story took a hard turn as major safety concerns arose regarding their 737 MAX series planes. Since then, Boeing news has continued to snowball dramatically. The year has seen multiple safety violations and investigations, lawsuits, "mysterious" whistleblower deaths, a CEO change, and currently, an ongoing labor strike.

610 KONA has put together a timeline of news coverage from the start of 2024 highlighting key events for Boeing which will be updated as the year continues.

This list is chronological. For the latest updates to Boeing news, please scroll down.

2024 Timeline of Boeing News

January 5: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9, returns to Portland (PDX) about a half hour after take off, as a blow out caused an emergency door to fly off the plane. Alaska Airlines decides to voluntarily ground all of its 737-9 aircraft for safety.

January 6: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) orders a grounding of all 737-9 airplanes. This decision is meant to be temporary, and the FAA notes that it "has determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design."

January 11: The FAA alerts Boeing of its investigation "to determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations. "

January 24: The FAA halts production of the 737-9. It allows existing MAX 9 to resume flight after inspection.

January 31: Boeing shareholders bring a proposed class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer.

February 6: Boeing identifies "mis-drilled" holes in fuselage of 737 MAX planes being built.

March 4: Rachael Rasmussen, a transgender woman, files a lawsuit against Boeing for discrimination, harassment, and assault.

March 9: Whistleblower John Barnett is found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, shortly after testifying in a Boeing investigation. His death was reported on March 11.

March 10: The Department of Justice reveals its investigation into the "blow-out" incident. In response, Boeing indicates that they can't find the maintenance records for the plane in question.

March 25: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announces he will resign. An exact date for transition to a new CEO is not yet set.

April 4: A Southwest Airlines 737 in Lubbock, Texas aborts its flight after the engine catches fire during takeoff.

April 8: The engine cover of a 737-800 blows off as it leaves Denver airport. The plane was operated by Southwest Airlines.

April 24: Two Boeing engineers claim they suffered retaliation over safety concerns in 2022.

May 2: Joshua Dean, a whistleblower from Spirit AeroSystems, dies from a "mystery infection." He is the second known whistleblower to die in 2024.

May 9: Another whistleblower, Santiago Paredes, steps forward. He claims that in his work at Spirit AeroSystem's plant in Kansas, which supplied Boeing with airplane parts, he found hundreds of defects in fuselage shipped to Boeing.

May 29: Boeing announces it will continue with the launch of its Starliner spacecraft despite an ongoing leak issue.

May 30: The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announces Boeing has given over $11 million in back pay for Boeing workers.

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June 25: Boeing's Starliner spacecraft appears to leave astronauts "stranded in space."

July 1: Boeing announces it will re-acquire Spirit AeroSystems, its troubled parts maker.

July 31: Boeing announces that Robert "Kelly" Ortberg will take over as CEO on August 8.

August 20: Boeing stops certification flights on the new 777-9- aircraft due to a part failure.

September 7: The troubled Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth without its crew.

September 9: Boeing offers a deal to try to prevent a strike of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). It offers a 25% wage increase.

September 12: IAM workers vote to reject the deal from Boeing and begin a strike, with a 96% vote in favor of the strike.

September 17: Boeing implements a cost-saving plan to deal with the strike.

September 18: Boeing announces upcoming layoffs in order to cut costs and recover from its previous losses.

September 26: Striking Boeing workers indicate that they're prepared for a long strike, and call Boeing's latest negotiation efforts a "cheap shot."

October 1: The Washington State Healthcare exchange makes state healthcare insurance available to striking Boeing workers.

October 2: News reveals that the Starliner crew will be brought home via SpaceX. The crew was left at the space station when the Starliner was sent back to Earth to ensure their safety.