A briefing was held in Renton, Washington, on Tuesday in which details were provided about the supplier’s “deficiencies.”
Two days of hearings by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are set to begin on Tuesday, focusing on the January door plug explosion on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX.
Elizabeth Lund, Boeing’s senior vice president of commercial airplanes quality, is scheduled to spend much of the opening ceremony testifying about incidents surrounding the plane’s manufacturing, inspection and the opening of the mid-exit door plugs, news outlets reported. Agenda released by the NTSB.
Also appearing will be Terry George, senior vice president and general manager of Boeing programs at Spirit AeroSystems, and Scott Grabon, senior director of 737 quality at Spirit, which makes the MAX fuselage.
Boeing last month agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, from which it spun off its core manufacturing operations in 2005, for $4.7 billion in stock.
Boeing agrees to buy Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion as manufacturer responds to safety concerns
The Spirit AeroSystems offices in Farmers Branch, Texas, U.S., Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Boeing Co. supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. suffered its biggest drop in more than four months as it is under investigation for a panel-breaking incident. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Boeing was criticized by the NTSB this summer. Share the details of your investigation Lund, who also serves as chair of the Enterprise Quality Operating Council, spoke at length about the issue during a press conference.
The NTSB said it plans to issue subpoenas to Boeing to appear at investigative hearings this week in Washington, D.C., adding that the company will not be allowed to question other participants.
Boeing responds after being criticized by NTSB for leaking details of Alaska Airlines door burst investigation
Elizabeth Lund, Boeing’s senior vice president of quality, spoke to gathered media in front of slides detailing the plug door explosion on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 at the Renton plant on June 25, 2024. (Jennifer Buchanan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We deeply regret that some of the comments we made to clarify our responsibility for the accident and explain the actions we are taking went beyond the NTSB’s role as an investigative source,” Boeing said in a statement to FOX Business. “We apologize to the NTSB and stand ready to answer any questions as the agency continues its investigation.”
In March, The NTSB The investigative hearing was needed to “determine the facts, circumstances and probable causes of the transportation accident” that occurred on Jan. 5 at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which departed Portland, Oregon, for Ontario, California.
Investigators examine a door plug that blew off an Alaska Airlines plane on January 5, 2024. (NTSB/Fox News)
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said they have evidence that four bolts securing the door plugs on the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft were missing at the time of the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 explosion. (NTSB/Fox News)
For more information on FOX Business, click here
The NTSB said the door plug had fallen off, causing a “rapid decompression.” The flight returned to Portland and landed safely with 171 passengers and six crew members on board, eight of whom were reported to have suffered minor injuries.
Reuters contributed to this report.
