Former Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen talks about Boeing’s recent series of safety issues in Kabuto: Coast to Coast.
Boeing says it can’t find documentation to back up repairs its employees made in September to a 737 Max 9 whose door plug was blown off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, and surveillance footage showing the work being done is missing. They claim that it may have been overwritten. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board made the announcement Wednesday.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a letter to U.S. senators that the NTSB does not yet know who performed the riveting work on the aircraft, which included opening, closing, and reinstalling door plugs that failed several months later. , wrote that it included closure.
Plastic sheeting covers the fuselage area of an Alaska Airlines N704AL Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft outside a hangar at Portland International Airport on January 8, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Matthew Lewis Rolland/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Boeing informed us that they were unable to locate any records documenting this work,” Homendy wrote. “In order to obtain this information, investigators made a verbal request for security camera footage, but were informed that the footage had been overwritten.”
“The absence of these records will complicate future NTSB investigations,” the NTSB director added.
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Homendy said the NTSB first asked Boeing for repair information on January 9, days after the door plug failure. Boeing last week gave a list of employees who reported to door crew managers during repairs, but did not say which employees performed the work.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun leaves a meeting with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Hartville. Calhoun was meeting with senators about recent safety issues, including the grounding of the 737 MAX 9. plane. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Getty Images/Getty Images)
“After the NTSB received this list, I called Boeing CEO David Calhoun and asked him for the names of the people who had done the work,” Homendy wrote. “He said he could not provide that information and claimed that Boeing had no record of the work performed.”
When contacted by FOX Business for comment, a Boeing official said the company maintains the video on a rolling basis for 30 days, which is consistent with standard practice.
“We will continue to support this investigation in the transparent and proactive manner that we have supported all regulatory investigations into this incident,” the company said in an official statement.
“In an environment of high stakes for our employees, customers, and other stakeholders, we have worked hard and will continue to work hard to comply with regulations regarding the release of investigative information.” Boeing also added.
Alaska Airlines plane’s door panel blown off before scheduled safety inspection: Report
Investigators found four key bolts missing from the door plugs of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane that took off from Portland, Oregon, on January 5th. A panel was blown off at 16,000 feet and the cabin was depressurized before flight.I came back safely portland international airport.
Boeing Regional Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia, April 29, 2020. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
| ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | boeing company | 182.41 | -1.82 | -0.99% |
As a federal investigation into Boeing’s safety practices continues, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the day before the explosion, some Alaska Airlines engineers and technicians turned on a warning light indicating a problem with the plane’s pressurization system. He reported that he had concerns.
The newspaper reported that instead of taking the plane out of service, the airline decided to continue flying the plane and scheduled a maintenance inspection on the evening of January 5th.
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The airline told The Associated Press that the warning did not require or suggest the aircraft be grounded and that the maintenance plan “was in line with all processes and procedures.”
FOX Business’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
