The chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board told a Senate committee Wednesday that Boeing was delaying providing some information to the agency as it investigates what led to a door panel coming off an Alaska plane during a January flight Airlines solved it.
The official, Jennifer Homendy, told the Senate Commerce Committee that her agency had requested all existing documentation related to opening and closing the panel known as a door plug at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington. Ms Homendy said the safety committee had also requested the names of certain workers at the factory.
Boeing has a team of 25 employees and a manager who handle doors at the Renton plant, Ms. Homendy told the Senate committee. The manager was on leave for health reasons and the agency was unable to interview that person, Ms. Homendy said. She added that Boeing did not provide the safety board with the names of the other 25 employees.
“It’s absurd that two months later we don’t have this,” she said.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plane maker is under investigation by the safety board and the Federal Aviation Administration over the Jan. 5 incident involving the Alaska Airlines jet, a Boeing 737 Max 9, that took off from Portland, Oregon. No one was seriously injured when the door was opened. The connector became detached from the plane at about 16,000 feet, but the mishap has prompted renewed scrutiny of Boeing’s quality control practices.
A preliminary report released last month by the safety board said four screws meant to hold the door stopper in place were removed at Boeing’s Renton plant and apparently were not reinstalled before the plane was delivered be.
Boeing has faced a wave of criticism since the episode. The FAA barred the company from expanding production of the 737 Max series until quality control problems were resolved, and last week the regulator gave the company 90 days to develop a plan for improvements.
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2024-03-06 19:38:26
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