US safety board to hold hearings on Boeing midair emergency

Washington — The US National Transportation Safety Board will question witnesses from Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the midair cabin panel blowout of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 door plug in January.

During the start of its two-day investigative hearing, the board also plans to release documents including factual reports and exhibits from the investigation.

The incident damaged Boeing’s reputation and led to the MAX 9 being grounded for two weeks, a ban by the FAA on expanding production, a criminal investigation and the departure of several executives. Boeing has vowed to make quality improvements.

Boeing’s senior vice-president for quality, Elizabeth Lund, and Doug Ackerman, vice-president of supplier quality for Boeing, were among those who would testify during the hearings scheduled to last 20 hours over two days, the safety board said.

Terry George, senior vice-president and GM for Boeing programme at Spirit AeroSystems, and Scott Grabon, a senior director for 737 quality at Spirit, which makes the fuselage for the MAX, would also appear, it said.

Last month Boeing agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, whose core plants it spun off in 2005, for $4.7bn in stock.

The hearing will review issues including 737 manufacturing and inspections, safety management and quality management systems, FAA oversight, and issues surrounding the opening and closing of the door plug.

In June, FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said the agency was “too hands off” in its oversight of Boeing before January.

Also in June, the National Transportation Safety Board said Boeing violated investigation rules when Lund provided non-public information to the media and speculated about possible causes.

Last month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6m to resolve a justice department investigation into two 737 MAX fatal crashes.

Reuters