Hearings in Washington in investigation into Alaska Airlines Boeing crash

The umpteenth episode of the soap opera of Boeing's setbacks: the National Security Agency The American Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is holding a hearing Tuesday and Wednesday in the investigation into the in-flight incident of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 , which crashed ;eacute;vélé bring quality problems into the open of the aircraft manufacturer.

“The NTSB conducts an investigative hearing to obtain information necessary to determine the facts, circumstances, and probable cause of a transportation accident or incident (…) and to make recommendations to improve transportation safety,” the agency explained, announcing the hearings in Washington.

On January 5, 2024, during the ascent phase of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operating Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, a door stopper – a cover blocking a redundant emergency exit – detached, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage and causing a few minor injuries.

A month later, the NTSB published a preliminary report damning the aeronautics giant.

Jennifer Homendy, head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), on March 6, 2024 in Washington © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA – Kevin Dietsch

The lack of wear or deformation in some locations indicated that “four bolts designed to prevent the cap door from moving upward were missing before it moved,” it said.

The agency collected written evidence and photos showing that Boeing employees removed the bolts during an inspection at its Renton assembly plant in northwest Washington.

– Fifteen witnesses –

To advance its investigation, the NTSB called 15 people for two long days of testimony in Washington.

A 737 fuselage, manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems, arrives at the Boeing plant in Renton (northwest), on January 25, 2024 © AFP – Jason Redmond

Among them were several representatives from Boeing, including the vice president in charge of quality, Elizabeth Lund, as well as from Spirit AeroSystems – supplier of the fuselages of the 737, in particular -, the air transport regulator FAA and the local union of machinists IAM.

On the other hand, no one from Alaska Airlines. According to experts, the company continued to operate the plane despite three unexplained pressurization incidents, nevertheless avoiding flying over water and without climbing to the usual altitude.

The NTSB told AFP that the hearings focused on manufacturing, “subjects and witnesses were selected with that objective in mind.”

“Other topics, in addition to those discussed in the hearing, will be discussed before the investigation is complete,” it said.

During a presentation to journalists, including AFP, in late June in Renton, Ms. Lund gave a detailed version of events.

This earned Boeing a sanction from the NTSB, which accused the manufacturer of seeking to influence public opinion and of failing to meet its commitments as a party to the investigation.

Elizabeth Lund, Boeing's vice president of manufacturing quality, on June 25, 2024 at the Renton plant © POOL – Jennifer Buchanan

Ms. Lund explained that when the offending fuselage arrived in Renton, five non-compliant rivets were found.

“That doesn't “There was no safety issue,” she said, adding that the device then moved down the assembly line while engineers discussed whether to change them.

Ultimately, it was decided to replace them. To do this, the cap door had to be removed, but “there is no written record” of this operation, which was unusual for these teams.

According to Ms. Lund, a team responsible for removing the plane from the manufacturing hangar put the cap door back in place, but without bolts. Its mission was to protect the planes from the elements, not to work on them, she insisted.

Without documentation recording the removal of the cap door, the bolts were never put back in place before it was delivered in October, nor did it enter service in November.

– Uncooperative –

“This is a lack of respect for our procedures,” she acknowledged, specifying that Boeing was unable to identify the employees concerned due to a lack of documentation.

Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the final manufacturing stage at the Renton plant (northwest), June 25, 2024 © POOL – Jennifer Buchanan

The Renton plant employs 10,000 people and operates 24 hours a day, with a daily rotation of three shifts.

NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy has on several occasions deplored a lack of cooperation from the aircraft manufacturer, particularly in providing documents and surveillance camera videos, which were allegedly “erased” by other recordings.

Four whistleblowers testified on April 17, 2024 before a US Senate committee on Boeing's quality problems © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA – Kent Nishimura

According to her, the team leader was identified but had been on sick leave for several months at the time she spoke.

The incident of flight 1282 has shone a spotlight on quality problems at Boeing, affecting three of its four families of commercial aircraft (737, 787 Dreamliner, 777).

It has led to audits and investigations (police, justice, Congress), increased surveillance by regulators, a renewal of the management team and the reopening of the criminal case linked to the crashes of 2018 and 2019 (346 deaths).

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