Chicago-based aerospace company Boeing said it found problems with its aircraft construction and now the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. (Photo: Reuters / Alwyn Scott)The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday proposed fining Boeing $3.1 million for a series of safety violations tied to its 737 MAX program, including issues linked to the January 2024 Alaska Airlines mid-air emergency and allegations that Boeing employees interfered with federal safety oversight. The FAA said it uncovered "hundreds of quality system violations" during inspections at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and at Spirit AeroSystems' facility in Wichita, Kansas, which builds fuselages for the MAX. The agency said Boeing also presented two unairworthy aircraft for airworthiness certification and failed to follow its own quality system procedures. In one of the most serious findings, the FAA said a Boeing employee pressured another Boeing worker acting as an Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) representative - a person authorized to perform FAA certification tasks - to sign off on a 737 MAX aircraft the representative had determined was not compliant.