Jennifer Homendy, Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, speaks during the investigative hearing into the explosion of a left center exit flap on a Boeing 737-9 MAX during Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 5, 2024, at the National Transportation Safety Board headquarters in Washington in the United States on August 6, 2024. (Photo by Bryan Olin Dozier/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Bryan Olin Dozier | Anadolu | Getty Images
ONE Boeing A safety official told a federal safety hearing on Tuesday that the company is working on design changes to avoid a repeat of the near-catastrophic explosion of a door stopper from a practically new 737 Max 9 earlier this year.
The National Transportation Safety Board – the body responsible for investigating air accidents in the US – released more than 3,000 pages of documents ahead of a full two-day hearing on Flight 1282, including interviews with employees of Boeing and its beleaguered fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystemssome of which showed rework.
“I just want a caveat here, this is not a PR campaign for Boeing,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. “This is an investigation into what happened on January 5th. Do you understand?”
According to the results of the preliminary investigation, the bolts meant to hold the door in place were not attached. Although there were no serious injuries, the accident put a renewed spotlight on Boeing’s safety procedures and a series of manufacturing defects that required changes at the company’s factories, including what led to the door plug being removed but not secured last year.
“They’re working on some design changes that will allow the door, the plug, to not close if there’s a problem until it’s firmly secured,” said Elizabeth Lund, head of safety for Boeing’s commercial airplane unit. The changes will be implemented within the year, Lund said.
An exhibit presented during an investigative hearing by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The explosion plunged Boeing back into crisis mode and prompted a management reshuffle, including the appointment of a new chief executive, Robert “Kelly“ Ortberg, an aerospace veteran who previously headed Rockwell Collins. It starts on Thursday.
The crash has also delayed deliveries of new planes to customers, further eroding the flagship US manufacturer’s relationship with airlines — and with regulators.
Outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun said Boeing is working to eliminate so-called journey jobs, where faulty airplane parts must be repaired, out of order, before the aircraft are delivered to customers. Boeing is in the process of acquiring Spirit AeroSystems, a move the company says will give it a closer look at quality.
“We’ve been put in uncharted waters where we were … replacing doors like we were replacing our underwear, front doors, cargo doors, E/E bay doors,” said one Boeing worker, whose name was redacted from testimony. “Planes are jacked in every day.”
