May 7 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration

said on Monday it has opened an investigation into the Boeing

787 Dreamliner to see whether some employees committed

"misconduct" by claiming certain tests that were not performed

had been completed.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

The U.S. FAA has opened another investigation into Boeing ( BA ), which

was already facing probes related to a Jan. 5 panel blowout on a

737 MAX. The FAA wants to know if Boeing ( BA ) completed inspections

to confirm adequate bonding and electrical grounding where wings

join the fuselage on certain 787 Dreamliner airplanes at its

factory in South Carolina.

HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT?

Boeing ( BA ) informed the FAA that an employee at the South

Carolina plant found irregularities in a 787 test - and said in

an email from a company vice president that the planemaker

"learned that several people had been violating company policies

by not performing a required test, but recording the work as

having been completed."

IS THIS THE FIRST TIME AN ISSUE INVOLVING PAPERWORK HAS

EMERGED AT BOEING ( BA )?

No. Investigators looking at the Jan. 5 737 MAX blowout have not

turned up specific documentation related to the production of

the aircraft in question as well. In that incident, a door plug

was removed to address manufacturing problems, but when the

panel was reinstalled, four bolts needed to hold the door in

place were missing. Boeing ( BA ) so far has not produced any paperwork

that shows whether this step took place or not, and has said it

believes required documents detailing the removal of the bolts

were never created. Missing or falsifying documentation is seen

by experts as an egregious problem in aerospace where regulators

require meticulous production records.

WILL THIS NEWEST INVESTIGATION AFFECT PLANE PRODUCTION OR

EXISTING PLANES?

It is possible. The FAA said on Monday that Boeing ( BA ) is

"reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production

system and must also create a plan to address the in-service

fleet." Boeing ( BA ) currently produces fewer than five 787 planes per

month. The company in April had said it was already dealing with

a slower rate of production due to parts shortages.

WILL ANYONE BE HELD RESPONSIBLE?

Boeing ( BA ) has said it is taking "swift and serious corrective

action with multiple employees," but it is not clear how the

planemaker will fully respond to this issue. The company's

safety culture has been under scrutiny by lawmakers and

regulators after the Jan. 5 blowout that has damaged the

aerospace giant's reputation.

In April, Sam Salehpour, a current engineer at the company, said

Boeing's ( BA ) manufacturing practices are inadequately addressing

safety concerns.

Boeing ( BA ) was not immediately available for comment.