Your Evening Briefing: Boeing Safety Culture Is Slammed by FAA

US regulators issued a scathing report on Boeing’s safety culture, putting further pressure on the company as it contends with the fallout from a near-catastrophic accident at the start of the year. The US planemaker was faulted for ineffective procedures and a breakdown in communications between senior management and other members of staff, according to the long-awaited report released Monday by the US Federal Aviation Administration. Constant changes to complex procedures and trainings led to confusion, a panel of safety experts found. The report is the latest to find fault with safety at Boeing, which suffered its latest blow when a panel covering an unused door flew off during an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5. The 50-page report highlights the work still to be done at Boeing despite efforts to overhaul its culture and bolster safety practices after two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.

Sweden cleared the final obstacle to gaining NATO membership in a move that will solidify the alliance’s grip over Northern Europe and the Baltic region. The approval by Hungary’s parliament on Monday came 21 months after the Nordic country submitted its membership bid jointly with Finland in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s accession into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization helps bolster Europe’s security amid rising concerns Russia could try to target the bloc’s members.