A Boeing Vice President has failed to provide assurances to US authorities that there will be no recurrence of its planes losing doors mid-flight.
The company executive was asked for the guarantee at a two-day hearing held by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigating the loss of a so-called “plug door”, a self-sealing door used on some configurations of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, which blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario, California, in January 2024, at an altitude of 16,000 feet.
The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-Max experienced a blown-out window shortly after departing from Portland Airport
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) January 6, 2024
An Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport due to depressurization. At 16,000 feet, a window blew… pic.twitter.com/rRvEQSEZXt
Fear for passengers
Ensuing footage captured by those on board showed a fridge-sized hole in the side of the plane’s fusillage, in a cabin noisy with turbulence and full of shocked flyers and crew. One air steward told the committee she feared passengers had been sucked out of the aircraft during the incident, but remarkably the full manifest of 177 travellers and crew landed safely.
Putting Boeing’s safety practices under the spotlight during the hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy asked the manufacturer’s vice president of regulatory compliance and core quality Hector Silva, “Are you 100% sure a defect will not occur tomorrow?” Silva responded, “No.”
Homeny continued the line of questioning, asking if he was sure due diligence had taken place during installation of other similar plug doors.
“I cannot make a promise or guarantee of that,” he said, before adding: “We are definitely committed to making sure that all the changes we need to make are made.”
#BreakingNow Boeing: Bolts missing from door, says blowout report
— Suhr Majesty ™ (@ULTRA_MAJESTY) February 6, 2024
A Boeing 737 Max experienced a mid-air incident where the door fell off due to the absence of at least three of its four locking bolts.
This raises concerns about Boeing's safety standards, as one of their… pic.twitter.com/IrQ7eBhOJT
Door put back without bolts and with no paper trail
Since the January incident, it has come to light, according to Elizabeth Lund, Boeing’s senior vice president of quality, that the door in question had been removed for repairs in Renton, Washington, four months earlier. When it was put back, four bolts were missing, but no paper trail was created to alert any other workers that the replacement was incomplete and that bolts were missing.
United Airlines so far have found loose bolts as well as other issues on a key part of grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners.
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 8, 2024
Also the NTSB has found the missing door plug that blew off of the Alaskan Airlines flight this weekend while in-flight.
Imagine walking down the street… pic.twitter.com/tUCZiIvJJH
Homeny told reporters following the hearing that it remains unclear who put the door back and when exactly, as Boeing has been unable to provide that information to investigators after “years” of unauthorized work on the doors. Boeing has been dogged by repeated safety concerns and scandals since two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving its Max series, which gained certification after Boeing misled federal authorities on its record. The manufacturer accepted liability for that misinformation last month, as part of repeated attempts to draw a line under a catastrophic safety record that has damaged its reputation and wiped $1.4 billion off its bottom line earlier this year.
