The National Transportation Safety Board told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that it had “no record” of repairs made by Boeing to an Alaska Airlines jet whose exit door panel broke during a flight earlier this year. Ta. new york post report.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homemendy wrote: letter Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for September work Boeing did on the plane that involved removing and reinstalling a door plug to repair a rivet. It was confirmed that the relevant documents were not submitted.
“To this day, we still do not know who was responsible for opening, reinstalling, and closing the door plugs of the accident aircraft,” Homendy wrote. “Boeing has informed us that they are unable to locate any records of this work.”
In addition to not providing records of the repairs, the NTSB said the aircraft manufacturer had erased surveillance camera footage at its facility in Renton, Washington, where the riveting work took place.
“To obtain this information, investigators made a verbal request for security camera footage. However, they were informed that the footage had been overwritten,” Homendy added.
Homendy explained that the NTSB has not been able to speak with the facility’s door staff manager because, on the advice of his attorney, he is unable to make a statement “due to medical issues.” He noted that the lack of records and security camera footage will further complicate the investigation by government agencies into the incident.
“Boeing provided the NTSB with the names of individuals who may provide insight into the work performed to open, reinstall, and close the door plugs in September 2023,” she noted.
Homendy said he called Boeing CEO David Calhoun and asked for the names of all the employees who worked on the door plugs.
“He stated that he could not provide that information and claimed that Boeing had no record of the work performed,” the letter to senators said.
Boeing said in a statement last week that it cooperated with the NTSB’s request for information regarding the ongoing investigation. The company also indicated that there was a lack of documentation regarding the repair work in September.
“In terms of documentation, if the door plug removal was not documented, there would be no documentation to share,” Boeing said.
Repair records should be maintained in case documentation needs to be provided to auditors or investigators in accordance with regulatory requirements.
A preliminary NTSB report revealed that all four bolts securing the exit door plug may have been missing before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines.
“We fear that focusing on the names of individual front-line employees could negatively impact our investigation and deter Boeing employees from providing information to the NTSB that is relevant to this investigation. I am increasingly concerned,” Homendy told senators, noting that the agency has not provided information to the NTSB. Asking for an employee’s name for disciplinary purposes.
Boeing said security footage of the repair work was overwritten because the facility’s camera system retains footage every 30 days.
“We continue to support this investigation in the transparent and proactive manner that we have supported all regulatory investigations into this accident,” Boeing said in a statement. “We have worked hard and will continue to work hard to comply with the rules regarding the release of investigative information in an environment of high stakeholder interest,” the Post reported. .
The Alaska Airlines plane that suffered a panel explosion that forced the pilot to make an emergency landing was scheduled for maintenance later that evening, according to reports. new york times.
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